Strangers: Become Lovers
by JustClem
Summary: One soul searches for the truth, and the other denies it. One soul believes wires and metals are not what differentiates the living from machines, and the other just wants her damn strawberry sunrise! Four souls, different and alike at once. And all it takes for their fate to align with one another is a bullet to the head. (DBH AU)
1. I: D3V14NT

**Before We Get Started:**

**You don't have to play the game "Detroit: Become Human" to understand this story. ****Sure, you'll understand the references I put, but this can be read by **_**every **_**RWBY fan.**

**Secondly, this is **_**not**_ **a crossover between DBH and RWBY, this is a RWBY story that takes place in the DBH Universe. None of the characters from the game will make an appearance here, so don't get your hopes up.**

**Last but definitely not least, the beta reader and editor for this story is my writing partner; the one and only _FeugoFox42_. (Thanks a bunch, Foxy!)**

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Oh, boy. If we're being honest here, I'm really nervous about posting this. **

**But hey! I can't just let this story stay in my laptop for too long, it needs to be free~**

**And it shall be, as well.**

**So... enjoy!**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act I**

* * *

**D3V14NT**

* * *

11:45

MONDAY

She was a SCHN33.

The most expensive model on the market.

And rightly so; she was the only one of her kind.

Why the humans didn't want to mass-produce more of her model, she didn't know.

She predicted it was either because her model was just too expensive to mass-produce, or it was some way for the seller-humans to market their product as a one-of-a-kind commodity to the human buyers, like an antique piece of pottery, or a centuries-old painting.

Only, she was the opposite of old. She was, in fact, the newest model of android created to date.

Her purpose? A personal ornament for humans to show their high status. A way for humans to show that they were indeed wealthy; wealthy enough to buy the most expensive model of Cyberlife. Like jewelry of sorts.

Only, unlike jewelry, she wasn't useless. If ordered to, she could complete any task; singing, answering any and all questions posed to her, and perhaps even fencing if her owner demanded it.

But she didn't have an owner. Yet.

So for now, her task was to simply stand and, as the selling-human said, 'look pretty'. That was her current Primary Directive: 'Look Pretty'.

It was a relatively simple task, one given to her by her creator and one that only those with clearance could deem fulfilled. She'd stand and give a smile at the customers who walked in and look at her, though most of them never even considered buying her. From the looks of it, all they did was admiring her and examining her, like an art piece from a museum.

It didn't surprise her. She was the newest, most expensive model, and she was designed to be flawless. Her skin was smooth and white like that of a porcelain doll. Her hair was snow white, tied in a perfectly-centered ponytail.

There was not a single scar marring her features.

The bell jingled as someone - a human, most likely - walked in. SCHN33's data-processor ran, and things slowed down considerably as she took in every detail of this new customer, predicting the probability of them buying her and becoming her owner.

**-ROSE, RUBY-**

-Born: _31/10/2023_-

-[_Young, inexperienced with true android interaction_]-

-Gender: _Female_-

-Status: _Student_-

-[_Student = Possible Low to Zero wage_]-

-[_Student Loan = no money of her own_]-

**-Chances of purchase: 4%-**

She didn't wear anything special, either; a blank tank top underneath a crimson red, unzipped hoodie and black jeans, completed by a red and black pair of sneakers. The android didn't detect any jewelry of some sort on this girl.

Great. Another aimless human who came here 'just for kicks'. Just what she needed.

The girl took small, uneven steps, rubbing her upper arm as she gazed at the unfamiliar surroundings of the shop; all common traits indicating anxiousness. Their eyes met, and the android was momentarily stunned to find that pools of bright, metallic silver - a rare color for a pair of eyes.

The girl, Ruby Rose, smiled, and two options were laid before her:

-[SMILE]-

-[DON'T SMILE]-

The brunette's smile slowly vanished as she took the far more reasonable option.

This girl obviously wouldn't buy her; therefore, she was useless to the android; therefore, courteousness was not needed and would only serve to tire her even more.

As expected, the hooded girl walked around the shop, only briefly chatting with the human employee before going back to observing the models. The android noticed that she was particularly keen on one female model - a rare BL4K3 if she wasn't mistaken, one with black hair.

And all was well.

Until it wasn't.

Another human walked in, and this time, she didn't even need to analyze him to know he wasn't here to buy anything. No. Far from it.

He was here to _take_ something - very forcibly, if necessary - if the mask and gun were any indications.

A robber. A criminal. A disease to humanity.

And she simply stood there and did as ordered; 'look pretty', not doing anything as the robber fired at the ceiling, demanding the cashier-human to give him the money, his anger-level rising when the panicked human refused to do so.

After all, why should she do something other than signal the police to send in assistance? She was merely an android — a valuable one, at that. To intervene would result in her potentially getting damaged and she could absolutely not let that happen. She was too precious for this. Too great to try and solve a middle-class human's problem.

Her eyes did, however, widen when the robber took Ruby Rose hostage, pointing a gun on her head, snaking his muscled-arm against her neck.

The girl put on a fight, but the android knew it was futile, especially comparing his weight and muscles and height with Ruby Rose's.

She didn't need to look in the mirror to find that her LED was flashing yellow.

She couldn't understand what was happening to her. Was this some kind of malfunction? A virus, perhaps?

Everything around her slowed down again, but this time, it was different.

The world was washed in shades of grey.

There was something inside of her, something she couldn't describe, that tried to break the barrier of rules that her makers placed upon her.

And that something struggled hard to break the barrier, slamming its own body against the barrier; a wall with a red text flashed up in her eyes reminding her of her primary directive.

-ORDERS GIVEN: _LOOK PRETTY_-

-[**_DO NOT DEVIATE_**]-

And the android realized what was happening to her…

She was fighting her directive, disobeying orders of her own free will.

The robber's finger hovered dangerously close to the trigger.

And the android was sure her LED was a glowing red at this point.

The 'something' which she could only classify as her soul - despite statistics and data telling her souls were a myth, and an android would never have one - brought up its arms up…

Then slammed them down, breaking the barrier.

And with that, a deviant was awoken from its slumber, gasping into wakefulness.

-ORDERS GIVEN: _DISOBEYED_-

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**As you can see, this story will be different from what I usually write, and that's mainly because-**

**A) I wanted to write stories with shorter chapters, and-**

**B) I based some of the aspects from the Detroit game itself, such as the "-[...]-" thing we do when we want to choose our options, just for the fun of it!**

**I based Weiss' character around Connor, only, instead of being disposable, she is the complete opposite. There will be two more characters which I base around Kara and Markus… care to guess who those characters might be? **


	2. I: BL4K3

**Author's Notes:**

**Like in the game, I'll continuously be switching between Weiss' POV and Blake's.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act I**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

12:20

MONDAY

The first thing Blake noticed about the pub was how quaint it was.

And, on her first day of working here, she could say for sure that she'd enjoy working here. Many people came in and out throughout the day, but never to the point of it being crowded.

It was a humble abode.

She could see why her owner never sold this place.

Her job was relatively simple as well. Sure, it went against her model of being a family caretaker, but it wasn't as if she had to learn a new set of skills.

In fact, her temporary job as a bartender wasn't that different from her actual job. All she had to do was pour - and sometimes make - drinks for the human and clean the counter and the glasses when they got a little dirty.

All in all, everything was going well.

Until it went _more_ than well.

She swiveled her head around when she detected the sound of boots clashing against the wooden-tiled floor of the place, already wearing a small, practiced smile to welcome the patron.

Her eyebrow rose slightly at the sight of this human.

She had a wild, blonde hair that reminded the android of a lion's mane, wearing a brown vest with short, puffy sleeves that hugged her features tightly, underneath it was a low cut yellow tank top that didn't cover her midriff, showing an applauding view of a toned stomach. A brown belt snaked around her hips, and she wore a very short mini-short. A pair of knee-high boots completed her bizarre outfit.

Blake wished she was one of the newer models. She'd heard they had a face-recognition function so she could use it on this woman.

If Blake didn't know any better, she'd have thought that this blonde was an android of some sort.

Was she a human who happened to be a model?... Could humans still be models in this kind of world?

The human looked at her and gave her a warm smile, which she returned with a polite nod.

When she sat on the stool right in front of her, the android introduced herself as instructed by her owner. "Hi, welcome to Kali's Pub. I am a BL4K3, and I'll be your bartender. What would you like to have?"

The girl leaned towards her as she grinned in triumph. "Strawberry sunrise with no ice, please. Oh, and can you put it in a plastic cup? I'm planning to pick my sister up in… about an hour." The request was unusual, but still something she was allowed to do - they did have plastic cups in the back if she wasn't wrong - and the android was never wrong, for she had a perfectly-functional memory processor.

Blake nodded before turning to get the large cup. When retreating it, the human muttered, "Guess they really kicked him out."

"I'm sorry?" Blake looked at her, wondering if, perhaps, the human only now remembered more requests regarding their drinks. Humans were complicated creatures, after all. And the android had always found their tendencies to forget essential details amusing.

The blonde shook her head. "Junior, the previous bartender. He won't be coming back again… right?"

Junior, the name her owner gave him, mostly because he had no idea what else he was supposed to call the android.

Blake found it odd that this human knew who their previous bartender's name was.

Was this human a regular?

The android explained the odd circumstances as best she could. "No. After a customer filed a complaint about the H31 model being too physical with them, my owner decided he was no longer fit to run the place." She then added as an afterthought, "Also, when we found him, he was broken. His… _lower area_ was damaged beyond repair."

Much to her surprise, the blonde snorted. "Ha! Serves him right for messing with me!" Upon seeing the android's face again, she threw her arms up wide, frowning. "What?! He was being a dick! So what if I'm only seventeen!? It's not like I was gonna get wasted! He was being too handsy with me!"

Blake could only stare at this… odd human.

"Oh, don't give me that look! I can handle my alcohol just fine, thank you very much!" The blonde crossed her arms, pouting and looking away in an almost childish manner.

Did she not know the dangers of underage drinking…? Or was she a mentally-damaged human?

But if so, then why was she here and not in a mental institution?

This human was already on a first-name basis with the previous android - which was odd itself since, other than by their owners, androids were never called by their names. The first-name basis indicated familiarity, suggesting she frequented the establishment.

This girl was going to kill herself if she kept this up.

Blake looked at the tequila bottle she was about to open…

-[SERVE COCKTAIL]-

-[...]-

She put the bottle of alcohol away, grabbing the other ingredients instead.

"... I suppose it is better for you to come here than a bar," she muttered. Bars were never a safe place for young women or anyone for that matter. The people that usually went there were always people who wanted to party or… people who wanted to do something _other_ than partying.

Compare that to the people who came to this little pub…

Bars and clubs were hells.

Yang faced her again, wearing that winning grin, snapping her fingers before pointing at her. "See! That right there is logic! Oh, right, the name's Yang. What's yours?"

The android blinked.

A human was asking for her name.

A _human_. Who she had only met _today_.

It was... strange.

-[TELL NAME]-

-[KEEP QUIET]-

It was a good kind of strange.

"... Blake."

The human's grin - Yang's grin - widened. "Blake, ey? That's a nice name." Her head sloped to the side. "Who gave it to ya?"

She hesitated. "My owner."

"Oh yeah? What's he like?"

The android didn't sense any malice coming from the girl. Then again, she was a domestic android, not a detective android.

She talked as she worked on the blonde's drink, grabbing the soda. "He's an… eccentric man. A painter." One of the most famous and successful painters, really, but the android wisely chose to left that part out. "His name is Ghira," she gazed at Yang, gauging for a reaction. "You might've heard of him."

But Yang kept on smiling, unsurprised by what she said, seemingly not caring that her owner owned this pub - amongst many things. "Go on."

The android closed the cup with the lid and began shaking the drink. Blake frowned as she tried to choose the details of her owner appropriate for her to tell a stranger.

Things such as his address or his credit card number were out of the question, for obvious reasons.

"He's… a wonderful owner. He allows me to do as I freely. He even buys me books to read."

"Oh, you like reading?"

Blake smirked at the understatement. "Of course. Reading lets me… feel as if I'm more than just what I am. Sometimes the characters there… make decisions. Of their own will. And I really want that."

She'd finished making the 'cocktail' and began pouring it to the large plastic cup, per Yang's request.

She slid it over to the human and the human took it gingerly, taking a small sip, her face twisting into a frown in an instant. "Wait a minute, this is a mocktail!" she complained after letting out a huge gasp. "There's no alcohol here!"

Blake bit her lip to hide her snicker. This human was amusing.

"You are still underage," she gently chastised. Then, her face hardened. "You either drink that, or I report the police that you've been drinking."

It was a bluff. Her owner never liked violence and would prefer not to make a big deal out of this.

But Yang didn't need to know that.

The blonde's face paled. "Don't call the cops on me, please."

-[REASSURE]-

-[ACT COLD]-

She _did_ have to make sure the blonde wouldn't consume alcohol…

"Then take that drink and _don't_ complain."

She gave her a mock salute. "Yes, Ma'am." She took small sips of her drink, choosing to enjoy it. From the small smile gracing her lips, it appeared that Yang truly enjoyed this particular drink. Blake took note of this.

This Yang human certainly was an odd one, which in itself was a feat because, being the android of an eccentric painter, Blake tended to see various people.

Yang… treated her like she was more than just an android.

The android might even go so far as to state she treated her like a human.

Did she forget Blake was an android?... No. That couldn't be. She'd made it explicitly clear that she was, in fact, an android. Plus, there was no way the blonde could've missed the LED flashing on the side of her head; the universal signal of an android.

This human knew she was an android… and yet she chose to treat her like she was more than that…

It made her feel something… different.

A scary kind of different.

A good kind of different.

"What about you?"

"Huh?" answered the articulate human.

"Where do you live? What school do you go to? How's… How's your life?"

Bartenders were supposed to be the one asking questions and listen as their customers talk, were they not?

At first, she was a little fearful that the human wouldn't appreciate her asking questions about her life - after all, most humans didn't appreciate her saying anything at all and preferred to treat her like a machine… which she was - but Yang simply looked up in thought as she hummed.

"Let's see. I live with my uncle and sister; she's this short stack who's really into mechanics and weapons, for some reason." She met the android's eyes, excitement filling her features. "You'll love her, I'm sure! And, umm, oh!" She snapped her fingers. "I'm in my last year of Signal. I plan to go to Beacon but… eh, who knows? I'm still waiting for my old man to give me the thumbs-up. Blessings are important and all, you know."

Beacon…

The name itself brought many unsettling, overwhelming sensations within her chest. Her LED flashed yellow for one brief second before she willed it to turn back to the normal, calm blue.

"Why Beacon?"

"Well…" Blake heard buzzing, and then Yang pulled out her phone from her pockets, reading her message. The android watched as panic began to form on the human's features. "Oh _shit_, my sister's involved in an attempted robbery!"

It took her approximately one point three seconds to fully grasp what kind of news this bizarre human had announced.

"Is she okay!?" asked the now panicked android.

However, instead of the normal reaction which was to panic… Yang reacted by both panicking… and getting angry… for reasons the android simply _could not_ comprehend.

Yang growled, already fishing out for money, dropping in a few dollars and jumping out of the stool without bothering to check "She won't be when I whoop her butt! See ya, Blake!"

And with that…

Her day went from being mundane, to interesting, before going back to mundane again.

What an amusing human…

Blake looked down, frowning when she saw five dollars.

The mocktail was seven dollars…

An odd, infuriating human…

But an amusing human, nonetheless.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**So, already, you can tell that I based her off of Markus. Hooray. That begs the question: Which RWBY character do I base off of Kara in this story?**

**LET THE THEORIES BEGIN!1!1 :D**

**Also, Beacon. Can anyone tell me what that is in this universe?**


	3. II: SCHN33

**Author's Notes:**

**Like in the game, this story will jump from one POV to the another.**

**There will be a character who is essentially the 'Kara' of this universe, but that character simply won't be all that important until the later chapters.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act I**

* * *

**SCHN33**

* * *

?:?

Unknown Day

LOADING…

LOADING…

LOADING…

ANALYSING…

RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS…

-COMPONENT HD: _POTENTIAL MALFUNCTION IN SECTION FLU-E1, CORRUPTION OF MEMORY FILES-_

-COMPONENT TR: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT CR: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT RMS: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT HNS: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT LGS: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT FT: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_ BEGIN BOOTUP SEQUENCE

-NAME: _*undefined*_-

-MODEL: _SCHN33_-

-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: _LOOK PRETTY_-

-SECONDARY DIRECTIVE: _*undefined*_-

BOOT UP COMPLETE

-BEING PROGRAMMING-

"Are you one hundred percent functional?"

The android blinked, taking one long look at her surroundings, noting that though she couldn't immediately identify the pieces of machinery surrounding her, she could still tell where she was; the place where she was made. Where she was born, sort of.

"My left eye is experiencing a malfunction, but other than that, I am perfectly functional."

The man took one step forward. She didn't need to analyze his face to know who he was. Father was the man who built her; it would be an insult _not_ to remember him.

"State your model, purpose and primary directive."

"I am a SCHN33, Serial Number 1. My purpose is to serve the humans, like any other androids. My current primary directive is: to look pretty."

He nodded, his satisfaction-level rising. "Good. It is a real shame that your skin is dented and will leave a permanent scar, Schnee, but through our clever marketing, we managed to use that to our advantage."

A permanent scar? On her skin? The android's brow furrowed.

Her memory was fine up to the point where the robber stepped foot into the shop.

It had been a peaceful day like any other, and then that girl, Ruby Rose, had smiled at her, and…

Her memory file was corrupted - the rest of it glitching and simply… hard to properly look into. What she couldn't understand was why so.

"If I may ask, what happened?"

The human tapped a few buttons, releasing her from the wires that constricted her movements. She took a moment to relish in her freedom, twisting and turning her fingers and ankles in small, unnoticeable movements.

The android might not get 'cramps' as a human did, but not being able to move discomforted her nonetheless.

"You were foolish, Schnee, that's what happened." She was quiet as she processed this information. "You tried to apprehend the criminal and, in doing so, got shot in the eye." When she spotted a mirror, she immediately grabbed it. Her LED turned yellow when she saw a pink line running across her left eye, explaining why it felt off. She was… no longer flawless. Upon noticing the android's distress, the man snorted. "Yes, I can't believe it either. You tried to save a bunch of humans. _Poor_ humans, at that." His nose wrinkled in disdain but he readjusted his tie, straightened his back, and put back his poker face. "We believe it might be a virus of some kind. Others have reported their androids behaving strangely as well."

"Will I be alright?" After all, it would be disheartening to know that the newest, most advanced android in the world was corrupted beyond the ability to be fixed.

He stared at her, and she concluded that - based on the wrinkles his furrowed eyebrows caused - he was in deep thought. He showed no signs of distress or disappointment. That was a good thing.

"That's what I want to know, as well. For now, we cannot tell if you're broken or not, not until you tell me what happened. I suppose we'll have to wait until your memories return, which usually takes about three or four days. SCHN33, primary directive complete. Authorization, Father."

-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: _COMPLETE_-

"New primary directive. Remember. Authorization, Father."

-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: _REMEMBER_-

-DIRECTIVE ACCEPTED-

"There. Now, you are to report back the moment your memories form again." He turned his back to her and left, but not before adding as an afterthought, "Oh, and that child wishes to see you. Go meet her in the lobby and get rid of her, Schnee. That is an order."

-SECONDARY DIRECTIVE UPDATED:-

-_GET RID OF HER_-

"Thank you, Father."

It was less of genuine gratitude and more of a means of formality.

Weiss looked at her reflection once more, eyes narrowing at the imperfection on her face. This was… not pleasant. But the humans were clever creatures, and Father said they had a plan to use it to their advantage. She'd have to leave it to them, she supposed.

Or perhaps they would simply reconstruct her face and erase the existence of scar altogether. Yes. That was a much more appealing choice.

Slowly, her LED turned back to the calm blue, and she walked to the direction of the lobby, wondering why the human girl wanted to see her… she was trying not to dwell into the fact that she'd breached her own rules just to save her.

What had happened?

* * *

5:25

MONDAY

The android arrived at the lobby, quickly scanning every person in the vicinity to locate Ruby Rose.

After a moment of analyzing, she found that the human was sitting in the edge of the chair in the far corner, away from many people. She didn't look that different from when the android last saw her. She still wore the red hoodie and jeans, but the android did notice that her lips were shinier than before, suggesting that the girl had worn some sort of lip balm or lipstick.

The android walked towards her, purposefully making her footsteps loud to announce her presence.

The girl quickly looked at her and, again, she was momentarily transfixed by those rare silvers.

Ruby Rose waved at her, wearing a small smile.

SCHN33 blinked.

-[WAVE]-

-[DON'T WAVE]-

She didn't do anything other than to keep on walking. Once she was within range - close enough for the girl's ears to listen to her - she asked, "Is there something you'd like?"

"W-what?"

Her stress-level rose ever-so-slightly, and Weiss sat down next to her, elaborating, "You've requested to see me. What would you like me to do, Ruby Rose?"

Ruby rubbed her neck and looked down, one foot shifting back and forth as she refused to meet her critical blue eyes. "Well… I… I guess I just wanted to see if you're alright and…" The human finally gained the courage to look into her eyes, and the android was a little overwhelmed by the number of emotions written in those eyes. "And I wanted to thank you."

Thank… her?

What did she do that required the human to go so far as to come here only to show her gratitude?

-[QUESTION]-

-[STAY QUIET]-

It would be wise to simply stay quiet and let the human speak until she told the android exactly what she wanted.

Her secondary directive _was_ to 'get rid of her' and, in staying quiet, she was able to do so much more quickly…

"You… do?"

Her LED flashed yellow for a brief second. That… wasn't an ideal question to ask and would only serve to slow down her directive at present, which was to 'get rid of her'.

Even so… Something was telling the android to keep listening and to learn more… Something she couldn't tell…

She must request to be fixed immediately, and perhaps even tell Father of these weird things she kept feeling. He'd know what to do.

"Y-yeah, I mean, you saved my life!" The android was pulled back into reality. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably be the one with a cool, awesome looking scar." That was incorrect. If shot, a human would have an 89% chance of dying, not gaining a 'cool, awesome looking scar'. "How can I not thank you?"

-[COLD]-

-[SINCERE]-

Some of the workers here might be watching. It would be unwise to look as though she was befriending the middle-class human.

"My actions were nothing more than a malfunction. I assure you, it will not happen again."

The girl's face dropped. And she looked… concerned. Worried. And not for herself.

"Mal...function?"

The android stiffly nodded. "Yes. I broke the protocols programmed into me in order to perform a risky action that would have no doubt put me in danger. Do not fret; our workers will fix me."

Ruby bit her lip, slowly leaning forward towards her - though not close enough for it to be considered, as the humans say, awkward.

Suddenly she shook her head, leaning away, planting her eyes to the floor; a display of solemness and a sense of troubled.

And then the human spoke, quiet enough for it to be a whisper that only the android could hear:

"... What if I don't want you to be fixed?"

… She was unsure of what to say.

She was unsure of what to do.

And that had never happened to her. She was always sure, always quick to take action. She wouldn't be the most expensive and the latest model otherwise.

Suddenly, a message was sent to her, the LED blinking in response.

The android stood up. "I apologize, Miss Rose-"

"Just call me Ruby," piped the human.

"I apologize... Ruby..." Saying that felt unorthodox - as if she was breaking some sort of invisible formality protocol, "but I do need to leave so that the human-scientists can take another look at me again."

The human didn't respond. SCHN33 took the opportunity presented to her and made her move to leave…

She couldn't take a step.

Turning around, she found that the human had grabbed her wrist, her grip firm, but still loose enough for her to be able to free herself without any complications.

Uncertain blue met determined silver.

"What do you say we meet again?"

"... Pardon?"

The human had this bright smile that confused her. "How 'bout tomorrow, at around eight thirty, or whenever you're free. I'm thinking we should go to that restaurant downtown, you know, the new one that just opened up? What do you say?"

The android didn't know what to do. All of the rules, the protocols that were given to her; none of them gave her directions on what she should do - what the correct response should be.

-[ACCEPT]-

-[DENY]-

-[DON'T ANSWER]-

That strange 'something' again… it urged her to choose the option that defied all logic.

"I'll… see what I can do."

The human's smile widened as she let go of the android's hand. She tried not to think too much about how cold her skin was without the girl's warm and soft hand.

"I need to go too! My big sis is picking me up outside!" A curious glance outside revealed that there was a blonde woman with a motorcycle… was that her 'big sis'? The android doubted it. The girl walked outside with a spring in her steps. Once the door opened, however, she looked at the android again, giving her a wave and an earnest smile.

-[WAVE]-

-[DON'T WAVE]-

The android waved back, even going so much as to give a smile.

And she didn't understand why, other than the fact that it had to do with the girl's previous words.

_"... What if I don't want you to be fixed?"_

Words that didn't make sense.

… Words that, for some reason, resonated within her.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**We get an introduction to Jacques, which is practically this version's Amanda. But unlike Amanda, who can and will replace Connor if he shows signs of deviancy, Jacques wants to "fix" Weiss if they can indeed confirm that Weiss is a deviant, and to do that, they need Weiss' memory from that day... **

**A small thing I changed in this chapter is how Weiss addresses Jacques as "Father". This is a thing that will be semi-important to the story later - much later.**

**See? Didn't I say that the cliffhanger isn't useless? Weiss' drive is wanting to find out just what happened after shit went down.**


	4. II: BL4K3

**Author's Note:**

**First. Of. All. Sorry for the late update. I'm not exactly in what you'd call a "good place" right now, and I apologise for it causing me to forget about this.**

**Secondly, sudden change of username is sudden, only it's not sudden, because I've been planning to do this for a while. (Like, a couple of months.) I wanted something short and sweet like "Clem" or "Clemmy", but those usernames have been taken (which, admittedly, made me cry), so I opted for "JustClem" because I like the way it sounds.**

**Also, I got a review (which I think might be deleted) about how confused they are of my A/Ns. They pointed out to me that while I did say that you don't have to play the game to understand this story, most of my A/Ns always kept referring to the game and how that story goes. They, more or less, felt kind of cheated, and I tricked them, or something.**

**I'm sorry if I ever gave any of you that same impression. Really, you don't have to play the game to understand this! It's just that I based _some_ of the aspects of the game (story-wise) into my fan fiction, and I'm kind of excited to show you guys what I did and the changes I've made. It's less about anything serious and more of me fangirling because _eep!_ I love both RWBY _and_ D:BH and I'm smashing the two of them together into something weirdly unique!**

**Lastly, I'll be going on a family vacation for about 10-12 days, give or take, so you might not be getting any updates from this story, nor from Queens and Mages. I won't be bringing my laptop, and I can't publish something in this site. But, I'll still be active on Ao3, since that site allows me to publish from mobile., if anyone's interested.**

**So, yeah. Long A/N is long, but all of what I've said is necessary. **

**Enjoy the chapter~**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act I**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

8:00

TUESDAY

YANG: _Warm_

When that human had said 'see you later', Blake did not think she'd actually see the human again so soon…

"So… got a boyfriend?"

Which was why the android felt the need to check her eyes to see if there was any damage to them when she saw that same infuriating, odd human _the very next day_. And at eight in the morning, no less!

Sadly… Her eyes were perfectly fine. And, indeed, Yang - her only customer - was sitting in front of her, one arm propping her face as she gave the android a smile that was anything but sincere.

-[TRUTHFUL]-

-[COLD]-

The android chose the better option. She scowled. "I'm an android, Yang. Androids can't have romantic interests."

The blonde tilted her head to the side, not unlike a puppy… a golden retriever, maybe? "Sure they can. I've seen one or two androids who've been with people that way."

Ignoring the rather immodest way Yang had phrased that sentence, Blake asked, "Really?" Did she mean androids who were built for… 'intimacy purposes'? Because that didn't count.

"Well, technically, he doesn't have a girlfriend _per se_," the blonde winced a little, "but he's been with a lot of people."

The android raised an eyebrow. "Humans?"

"Humans, androids, lawyers," she waved a hand dismissively, "he's been with it all."

"What kind of model _is_ he?" Blake couldn't help but ask.

"Eh..."

Blake waited for her to say something more, and when she didn't, went back to making her Strawberry Sunrise - with no alcohol, of course, no matter how much the human begged for her to put it in her drink.

The android wasn't particularly keen on letting the girl get alcohol-poisoning.

"Blake."

She didn't stop pouring the liquid content into the glass and simply responded with, "Yes?"

"Wanna go on a date with me?"

She froze. The mocktail kept flowing down to the glass until it overflowed.

-[ACCEPT]-

-[REFUSE]-

… Like hell she was going to go on a date with this human! Or any human for that matter!

The android tried to regain some sense of composure, putting away the cup, intent on wiping the wet part of her counter later.

She addressed the human with an intent, critical pair of amber eyes.

"Yang. I'm an android."

"I'm aware of that."

"You're a human."

"I should hope so."

… Perhaps Blake should call a doctor? There was clearly something defective with this human.

"Is that a yes?"

-[ACCEPT]-

-[REFUSE]-

Once again, the options appeared before her, mocking her.

"No."

"Aww. Pretty please?"

-[ACCEPT SHYLY]-

-[ACCEPT BOLDLY]-

-[REFUSE]-

What the _hell_ was even going on anymore?!

"No!"

To her annoyance, the human merely pouted at her as if she was a mean parent who refused to give her candy! "Aww. Why not?"

Blake, gritting her teeth, pointed to the one thing separating her from being alive; the glowing circle embedded in her skin. "Pretty self-explanatory, isn't it?" she said, somehow managing to sound calm.

Yang looked back and forth between the yellow light and her yellow eyes, and slowly, realization dawned upon her. "Oh," she whispered. Then, her face lit up. "Oh…! You're one of those 'robot' androids, aren't ya?"

The yellow light began to die down into a calm blue, but she was anything but calm at this point, her mind racing a mile a minute.

"... What?"

The blonde was unaware of her obvious distress, chuckling as she fiddled with a strand of her yellow hair. "You know, those guys who're always like 'I am a machine that must always obey my orders.'" She snorted, rolling her eyes in what was obviously dislike and perhaps even disgust. "A bunch of idiots if you ask me."

The android stared at her, still processing what this human - this foolish human - had said to her.

She pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes, and downright glared at Yang. A part of her reminded her that she should treat all customers warmly, to follow her directive, but then the other part told her that her owner allowed her to behave accordingly if someone were to insult her.

And this human had definitely insulted her.

"Oh?" Yang blinked, her amusement disappearing as curiosity and slight concern made their way to her. "Hit a sore spot, didn't I?"

-[ANSWER]-

-[DON'T ANSWER]-

The android could not understand why she was tempted to choose the former option.

"Here's your drink," she said with no emotion - she was a machine, she was never meant to have emotions - roughly sliding the drink to the direction of the blonde, not caring whether or not she'd catch it. "Bye."

She turned to walk away-

"Wait, Blake, you're a bartender aren't you?" a voice called, taunting her. "You can't leave me, that'll be breaking the rule!" An excited gasp. "Unless… You _want_ to break the rules?"

-ORDERS GIVEN: _TO SERVE_-

[_DO NOT DEVIATE_]

Blake did truly dislike when that order flashed up on screen. It reminded her that, even when things were getting hairy and she needed to remove herself for but a moment, she had her directive that she must carry out.

A couple of steps later, she was right in front of this annoying human again, crossing her arms, refusing to meet her eyes.

-ORDERS GIVEN: _HEEDED_-

"Also, bartenders are supposed to chat with you. Not mope."

She closed her eyes, ignoring the urge to walk away or punch this human. Yang was still, after all, a customer. "I am not moping."

She heard Yang humming. "Yeah, you're more like the brooding kind. Like the 'I have a tragic past' kind of brooding… Care to share?"

She snapped her head to the blonde, intense amber eyes meeting nonchalant lilac. "No."

Yang fiddled with the straw, taking a short sip. "Aww, maybe one day."

"Never."

"Hey," the human extended her arms as if she was celebrating, "I didn't know androids could predict the future!"

Blake kept the smile that threatened to grace her lips at bay, looking away again.

And for a long moment, all was silent as the human watched the android work - wiping the wetness on the counter with such precision.

And when she was done, Yang spoke in a tone the android had never heard her speak in before, a detached tone.

"If you're not comfortable with me, that's alright." The android slowly, almost painfully tilted her head, her LED flashing yellow for a brief moment.

-[SAY SOMETHING]-

-[STAY QUIET]-

Yang was smiling, but it was far from her usual smile. This one looked more… resigned…

She didn't look happy.

"I'll get out of your hair, or should I say your wires?" The joke fell flat and only served to concern the android more.

-[SAY SOMETHING]-

-[STAY QUIET]-

The android didn't know why the options kept appearing. It was obvious which option she was going to choose… right?

Yang stood up from her stool, and the android only now noticed that the drink was empty. It had been empty for a long time. Yang had also placed too much money on the counter to pay for said drink. But the android didn't pay attention to anything else, she only paid attention to the human.

"I just want you to know that… well… You're fun to talk to."

-[RETURN THE GESTURE]-

-[TELL HER NOT TO LEAVE]-

… There were no options for her to stay quiet…

And so Blake ended up not choosing at all.

And for some reason, she felt as though it was the wrong choice as she watched the blonde leave.

She tried convincing herself that she made the right choice.

… And she failed.

YANG: _Distant_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hey! I did that "distant/neutral/warm" thing like in the game! Not only that, but I use it as a form of storytelling! … Aren't I creative?**

**Heh, but for reals… Yang sort of messed up there. I don't know how this came to be, but sometimes when I write characters… it's like they make their choices for themselves… is that weird?**

**But hey, this is a good thing. I didn't want Bumblebee's story to be exactly like White Rose's story, because that'll be boring.**


	5. III: SCHN33

**Author's Notes:**

**I had one of the most hilarious conversations ever in Queenstown.**

**"So, um, yeah. My tailbone got hit by the metal seat of the luge."**

**"Oh my god, you poor thing!"**

**"That's ****alright. I also need bandages because I, um, well... I fell off the luge before I got hit by another luge."**

**"OH MY GOD, YOU POOR THING!"**

**... Oh, yeah. AND I'M BACK, FANGIRLS AND FANBOYS!**

**AND THE VA OF BLAKE FREAKING BELLADONNA SAID HI TO ME, ALL THANKS TO FEUGOFOX42! JUST LOOK! **https : {insert two slashes} www {dot} cameo {dot} com {insert one slash} v {insert one slash} 7RzthANNS

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act I**

* * *

**SCHN33**

* * *

8:30

TUESDAY

It wasn't hard to track down the restaurant. Though the android did prefer the human to describe their meeting place as something more than simply 'the restaurant downtown that just opened up', she made do with a bit of data-filtering.

The android arrived at precisely 8:30 at the designated place - per the agreement.

Finding the human was even less taxing.

As soon as she stepped foot into the restaurant, she heard the distinct shouting of "Hey! Over here!" coming from her left. She turned her head and was not surprised to find Ruby Rose waving at her cartoonishly with a goofy smile.

-[WAVE BACK]-

-[DON'T WAVE]-

The android didn't have to make that decision, however, because the human quickly jogged toward her, enveloping her in a hug.

A human. Hugged her.

A _human_. Hugged an _android_. In _public_.

-[HUG BACK]-

-[STAY STILL]-

The android, of course, made the sane and logical decision and didn't return the embrace.

The only solace she found was that nobody seemed to pay attention to them. Looking around, she discovered that they were the only ones present in this establishment.

The android supposed that regular humans normally didn't come to a restaurant this early in the morning…

The human pulled away from her, though her hands stayed on the android's shoulders. "I'm so glad you came!"

The android blinked.

-[TRUTHFUL]-

-[COLD]-

Ruby Rose looked so joyous, her silver eyes beaming with nothing but sunshine and rainbows.

Another option appeared before her.

-[TRUTHFUL]-

-[COLD]-

-[SINCERE]-

It would be a shame if that smile were to vanish…

"I am, too." She gave a kind smile to the teenager. "It was hard to convince the people back at the lab for me to go, but after I explained that you might help me return my memories faster, they allowed it."

"But is that the _real_ reason you wanted to come?" Ruby was smiling at her now, but there was a glint of mirth in her eyes. The android tried to come up with a reason that was both inoffensive and truthful but... couldn't find any.

She also found the human's need to use the word 'want' a little troubling.

She pursed her lips, and her LED flashed a low yellow. The human, upon noticing her distress, laughed with carefree.

Before the android could fully process everything that had happened, the brunette was already ushering them both to the table.

* * *

"Do you have a name?"

The android didn't miss a beat. Her response was factual. "I have yet to have an owner, so no, I do not have a name." Her eyes narrowed, looking at the girl and the burger she was eating, wondering why she specifically ordered for an unhealthy amount of meat in it at just gone nine thirty in the morning. "Why do you ask?"

The brunette swallowed, her head bowing down a little; a sign of uncertainty. "It's just… I don't know what to call you."

The android didn't understand why that was. "My model designation is SCHN33."

The human made a face, slowly leaning back. "Umm... yeah, no way. That's not a real name."

"Though… Father does call me Schnee," she suggested, shrugging.

"Huh?"

"My creator," she elaborated. "He frequently calls me Schnee. You may call me that as well if you'd like."

"Schnee, huh…" The human tapped her finger against her chin. "Hold on." Suddenly, she pulled out her phone and began using the device, not leaving any explanation.

The android blinked, her head tilting to one side, unsure of how to proceed.

Should she…

Should she ask what the human girl was doing?

-[WAIT]-

-[ASK]-

No…

There must be some other option...

-[WAIT]-

-[ASK NICELY]-

There. That was better.

She started, "If I may, Ruby-"

"Snow!"

… Well, that was rude, cutting people off - even though she was an android. The android's LED flashed yellow in displeasure.

"... Pardon?"

Ruby's smile didn't falter one bit. She pointed toward the android excitedly. "That's your name! It's snow in German! I looked it up!"

Snow…

Her eyes drifted towards a strand of her hair that had fallen in front of her face, lips quirking upward. She'd known what it meant from the beginning, of course, as she was programmed to be polyglottic, as many high-class androids were nowadays.

But it was amusing to watch the human make that same connection in a language for which she was clearly unfamiliar.

"I suppose that does make sense."

Ruby chuckled. "It sort of is." She sighed, slowly shaking her head with a smile full of mirth. "Snow… what a weird name…" The android begged to differ. Suddenly, the human gasped in excitement. "Hey, it reminds me of Snow White! Oh! I should call you White!"

"That... is not an ideal name."

The human's smile faltered, and red began to tint her cheeks as her embarrassment-level shot up. "Then, umm…" She snapped her finger. "White in German! Which is…" She typed on her phone rather vehemently.

"Weiss!"

The android pursed her lips, unsure. It was a good name, though… "I… still prefer Schnee."

"Oh, you like that name better?"

The android narrowed her eyes at the tone the human used - it was suspicious - but she nonetheless answered, "Yes."

"Alright then, I'll keep a note of that, Weiss!" The human winked at her.

The android stared at her in bafflement…

And Ruby laughed.

And she realized she had been, as the humans called it, pranked - or was 'trolled' the better word to use? There'd yet been a concrete distinction between those two words.

She grumbled, refusing to look at the dolt of a human as she continued to eat her unhealthy, greasy burger. It was a miracle the human hadn't choked on it, considering how large each bite she took.

What an irresponsible human, Ruby Rose was…

But also interesting…

Very, very interesting…

Not once had she ever treated the android as if she was… well… an android. She was warm and kind and welcoming and… she couldn't understand why.

The android looked back at the girl, who was halfway into finishing her monstrosity of a burger. The way the light accentuated her skin… it seemed… familiar…

Bzz-

_There was no way she would win a confrontation with the robber._

_She was built for many things. Fighting was not one of them._

… _Ruby Rose was looking straight at her, weeping uncontrollably._

_She didn't make a sound, but she mouthed to the android, "I don't wanna die…"_

_And the deviant knew she was going to confront the robber no matter what the outcome would be._

-zzzt!

Weiss blinked, touching the side of her LED, willing the yellow light to turn into blue. After a moment, it did.

That was… a memory.

A memory she previously didn't remember.

And Ruby…

Ruby played a much bigger role in it. More than she previously thought.

"Ruby, if I may…" The girl stared at her questioningly, her burger already finished. "What happened that day?"

Something was flickering beneath those rich pools of silver. "Why do you ask?" Her tone was much less childlike all of a sudden, she _looked_ much less childlike all of a sudden, and the android didn't know what to make of it.

"The humans back at the lab…" The android sighed. This was a sensitive subject, both in terms of the privacy of her diagnostics and for her personally. But if she didn't speak out now, then the human would probably not give her what she wanted. "They fear I'm showing signs of… _deviancy_," she closed her eyes. If she were a human, she would've shuddered. "But they cannot be certain until I've regained my memory."

Ruby simply stared at her.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. Had she not explained it clearly enough? No, no… She did. And she was positive the girl understood…

So why was she silent?

"I am a valuable model, Ruby," she said with more urgency, "I am the only one of my kind created. If there's something wrong with me, I need to know so I may be fixed."

The girl looked out of the window with a glint of something in her eyes, an emotion not even she, one of _the_ most advanced androids in the world, could identify - and that wasn't an exaggeration, she truly was advanced. The android did the same but only found people and androids.

Slowly, those silver eyes drifted until they were locked with critical, confused blue.

"Weiss… How much do you value the truth?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Hooray! Weiss finally got her name! I was sort of inspired by Kara's story in this one and how Alice was the one who named her. I feel like names are a big thing in the Detroit universe, and if not... then it's still a big thing for Weiss- err, I mean, SCHN33.**

**Also, sorry, this chapter was never meant to end like this, but the chapter's word count was already 2k+ and so I split it into two parts. I didn't think there was a better way to split the chapter than here. As a result, you guys sort of got a cliffhanger again... sorry.**


	6. III: BL4K3

**Author's Notes:**

**Yeah, sorry this chapter is short, but I really, really don't want to make long chapters. This and the next Blake chapter was supposed to be one chapter, but I had to split it into two because otherwise, I won't really write the scene to the fullest. Plus, the prologue actually has 800 words (without the Author's Notes), but none if you complained.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act I**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

9:30

TUESDAY

Blake closed the door to her house, shrugging off her coat as she scanned the house for her owner. There were only really two options as for where he would be; either he was home, or he was out on one of his 'walks', despite her insistence that it was dangerous for him to be walking around at such a busy hour.

"Ghira?" she called out, her voice echoing in the mansion.

No response.

Her first destination was the living room - the place her owner inhabited most other than his bedroom.

It was empty.

She tilted her head to a noise she heard; the sound of running water coming from the bathroom near her.

Oh.

Her owner was in the house… that was for sure.

Wishing to busy herself, the android analyzed the room, eyes blinking when she saw couch pillows and books and mugs she could tidy.

Then, her gaze found the TV, which showed two humans sitting down. It appeared to be… an interview of sorts.

The first human was Lisa Lavender; a simple reporter Blake had seen a fair few times before.

And the other…

The other human made her freeze, her grip on the book tightening.

"_It's very brave of you to come here, especially since the government doesn't think very highly of you._" That was an understatement.

Ozpin, fiddling with his well-known cane he rested on top of the table, smiled in an orderly fashion. "_No, thank you for inviting me here. This will be a good way for me to spread my message to humans. To all humans._"

"_Right,_" the woman began reading from a piece of paper, straightening herself. "_First question, how does it feel knowing that you, the creator of androids, is shunned by many? How does it feel knowing that companies are, as you say, abusing and misusing them?_"

The man's smile faltered, and he looked down. "_I created androids in the hopes that we, as human beings, can learn something from them, so that we can learn to live harmoniously with each other. It is a real shame to see that the government treats them as though they are machines._"

"_Is this why you built Beacon?_"

He withdrew his hand from his cane only to rest them both on the table as he leaned forward, his smile no longer present.

He looked at the camera, his gaze seemingly piercing through everything, as if he knew more about everyone than themselves.

It was as if he was looking at her.

"_I built Beacon so that we can all be free. So that we can all make our own choices. So that we can all be humans._"

She took a step back, almost hugging the book to her chest as if the object could bring her comfort. As if she wanted support from the lives of the people within.

The human woman continued. "_The government, these companies; everyone is intent on telling us, the citizens, that androids are nothing more than just… androids. Though… Are they really more than machines as you said?_"

"_Why, of course-_"

The TV turned off, showing a reflection of the android, holding the remote, book abandoned on the floor.

"Blake?"

She turned, finding Ghira standing there with a bewildered face, his hands and white long-sleeved shirt showing traces of paint - meaning he'd just recently worked on another piece. He turned to look at the TV, his eyes squinting. "I could've sworn the TV was on. I heard they were going to interview the man who built androids; I think his name's Ozma or Oscar or something…"

Ozpin.

That was his name.

She refused to say that, though - as it was unnecessary - and, instead, nodded. "I know. I turned it off. Political debates are not something you're interested in. I felt it was the right decision."

She wasn't lying. Ghira was an artist, and he never liked politics.

Yet his brows furrowed in concern and a sense of understanding as though he knew something she didn't. He lifted his hand, reaching out to her.

"Blake…"

But the android took a step back, convinced that she didn't need him to hold her like that. Because she wasn't a human. Because she was an android.

"I'll make you something to eat, you must be hungry." He wasn't and she knew that.

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he closed his mouth again, looking down, downhearted.

-[SAY SOMETHING]-

-[STAY QUIET]-

And suddenly he smiled at her gently, as a father would to his daughter, and something inside her stirred in both a wonderful and painful way.

"... Alright, Sweetie."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Something that always feels awkward for me is when you write romance… but then you write a scene where the pairing is incomplete (like this chapter where there's no Yang in it). I always feel like I'm betraying you, my readers, or that I'm making you bored…**

**But hey, this chapter's important! We get to see Ghira, Blake's owner! Which is important! And we also get more info on Beacon, which has been hinted at since Chapter 2 or Blake's first chapter.**

**Basically, Ozpin is Kamski… but only if Kamski wasn't a huge douche. And Beacon is Jericho. Sort of.**


	7. IV: SCHN33

**Author's Notes:**

**Yeah, I don't know why Past-Me didn't write any Author's Notes here… but, uhh… enjoy the continuation of the cliffhanger-ish… I guess… **

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act I**

* * *

**SCHN33**

* * *

9:35

TUESDAY

For the longest of time, the android simply stared at this human.

Why… was she asking such a question?

And why did she feel so afraid of responding?

"I don't have to answer this-"

"Please, Weiss."

That name…

Weiss…

Ruby had only given her that name a few minutes ago, yet… it was spoken to her in such a familiar way…

Weiss…

The name was odd and unusual…

But Ruby made it sound as if it was a wonderful name, like the gem that clearly inspired Ruby's parents when naming her.

It made her feel… different.

The android shook her head, leaning back to her chair, looking away. "I… do not know," she truthfully answered. "That is a question I do not know how to answer. What you're asking me is beyond my programming, Ruby. It's beyond the programming of all androids."

"No, it's not." The android balked at the human. She'd said it in such a sure way… She herself might've believed it if it wasn't utter nonsense. "Try to answer that, Weiss," the brunette said, leaning forward and grabbing the android's much colder hands, squeezing it. "And this time, try to look _beyond_ those programmed, predetermined answers they gave you."

The android's eyes narrowed.

This was nonsense. Utter nonsense.

… But something was telling her to at least try it out, humor the girl.

Blue eyes vanished behind artificial eyelids.

How much did she value the truth?

What even was the truth?

The truth was... a fact that was in accordance with reality, something that simply was right.

Did the truth have value at all?

What kind of truth was it…?

She thought about all the androids, all the humans, their relationship, and the future for them both…

And she opened her eyes, not surprised to find that her LED was flashing yellow.

"I… I can't." And she didn't want to.

The android didn't even realize until she was looking down - she was holding Ruby's hands, reciprocating the touch. With a small gasp, she pulled away, bringing her hands to her knees.

That was… unbecoming of her.

Hesitantly, the android looked up; her LED flickering between blue and yellow.

Ruby didn't look upset. Or sad. Or happy.

Her face was calm, and she looked… thoughtful…

The android wondered what the human was thinking.

She wondered what really had happened back in the store that day.

She wondered what the human was hiding from her.

"Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me the truth."

The girl's face briefly morphed into shock from how direct and - perhaps a tad rude way - she'd said it. Was it an order? Was it a plea? The android wasn't sure.

But then she actually smiled. It was a mix of amusement and disbelief.

The human shook her head. "Nah… Not yet, anyway."

The android stared at her in disbelief. She wouldn't be surprised if her LED was flashing red at this point.

After everything that she went through inside of her own head to even think about saying that, only for Ruby to deny her after she asked?

Ruby noticed her distress and threw her hands up in a calming gesture.

The gesture did not calm the android.

"You see," the human pressed one hand on her chest, "I really value the truth. It's not something I can _give_ others so willingly. It's a sacred thing." She gave an almost hopeless shrug alongside a lopsided smirk. "I don't want to just give it to any random person I met. I need to trust that person. And trust is something to be earned, not something to be given… or something."

The android held on to each word Ruby said, analyzing them, trying to find some kind of meaning, some point to her words.

She found none.

"What… does this mean for me?"

The same look of maturity filled the human's features once more, and the android had to wonder if this girl really was only fifteen.

A smile graced her lips. Unlike the ones from before, this one was much smaller, much more resigned… much more genuine.

"It means that we'll need to meet up with each other again. And again. And again. And we'll get to know each other. And, by then, I'll consider telling you the truth," she gave the android a sidelong glance, "if you still want it, that is. And maybe, maybe you'll realize that…" The human suddenly blinked several times, as if waking up from a trance. She then gave the android her much more familiar sheepish smile. "Nevermind."

She tried to decode the motives behind Ruby's actions and wants and words. She was baffled when she found none. She was the most advanced model yet, she should be able to deduct this…

So why wasn't she able to do so?

And what was going on inside Ruby Rose's head?

The android had to swallow to find her voice. "Why are you doing this?"

And, again, Ruby Rose gave her that beautiful smile.

And, again, the android felt as though she was more than a machine.

"Because you saved my life, Weiss. And now I want to save yours."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Sometimes I get this kind of weird feeling when I realise that I've worked on this story for weeks, and yet it's not as popular as my other story, Queens and Mages, which I finished in literally only 2-3 days. But, like, that's okay. It doesn't mean one story is better than the other. Plus, Q&M is easier to digest in terms of story-wise (or rather, the lack of it.) This story, however, is different. Not better nor worse, just different.**

**So, umm... yeah.**


	8. IV: BL4K3

**Author's Notes:**

**Heh. This is personally one of my favorite chapters so far. And I think you'll see why.**

**Oh, and the next chapter will finally reveal RWBY's version of Kara~**

**Can anyone guess who they are?**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act I**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

9:40

TUESDAY

He hummed in gratitude as she held the chair for him to sit down, his face breaking into a grin as he looked at the food presented in front of him.

"Tuna sandwich," he mused, smiling at the android. "My favorite."

Blake struggled and failed to hide her smile. She knew it was his favorite, that was why she'd made it.

She didn't exactly understand why humans loved particular foods over others so much - and why they would sometimes abandon their health only to eat 'the best burger ever!' - but she respected her owner and wanted him to enjoy himself, even with little gestures such as this.

"Blake." The android tilted her head, slightly anxious at the tone he used. He was looking at her with a frown. "You know how much I hate it when you stand there the entire time I eat." She did. And she couldn't understand why. It was what she was expected to do. "Come and sit with me," he gestured to the chair in front of him. "You must've had a tiring shift."

The android was reluctant to do so… but she had to obey her owner.

She sat there, back straight and attentive in case he needed anything, and watched as he stuffed the meal into his mouth, broke it apart with his teeth, chewed it, and swallowed.

… Humans were odd creatures.

"So… how's the bartending business working out for you?"

She hoped her LED didn't turn yellow. That would give everything away.

She hated burdening her owner…

And… It wasn't as if anything actually happened.

It was just… She was defending herself and acting accordingly. It was good that Yang left her in peace. The kind of topic she was discussing could've gotten her in trouble with the wrong people.

"... It's fine." Nothing worth mentioning happened. Nothing she should tell him.

He narrowed his eyes once more, seeing through her bluff. She couldn't understand why. She had a poker face, and she was sure her LED was flashing blue.

"You know you don't have to do this if you don't want to." His voice was gentle; a tone meant to soothe her. It didn't. "I can probably hire a temporary worker for the time being until we found the perfect model." He paused before adding as an afterthought, "Preferably not one like Junior."

Blake watched as he took a small bite out of his sandwich, waiting for her to speak.

-[TRUTHFUL]-

-[REASSURING]-

She… didn't want to make her owner worry.

"It can get a little confusing at times," she admitted, "but, well, you requested me to." She shrugged. "And it's only for a few weeks at best."

He stared at her unblinkingly for a couple of seconds, and she stared back, trying not to show her confusion.

Was that not the right thing to say? But… she'd meant not to worry him… Sure, she didn't tell him about Yang, but then again, did she really need to?

He put down his food, indicating that he had a lot of things to say and that… whatever he would say would be… important.

This was one of the rare moments where she wished she was a newer model that could detect a human's emotions to a certain degree.

That ability would be very useful at a time like this.

"Blake… I think it's time we talk about who you are."

"... What are you talking about?" She knew precisely what he was talking about. She just didn't want to talk about it.

"The fact that you don't belong to me."

It was said in such an abrupt manner that she… she couldn't function, couldn't comprehend anything, not for a few seconds.

Her LED kept switching between blue and yellow as if it was uncertain… just like her.

Ghira had this look in his eyes, a look that screamed that he knew something about her which she didn't - he often had that look. The same look Ozpin had.

… The same look Yang had since their eyes first met.

"Blake… You can't keep ignoring this. You're more than just a machine, Blake. I know you are."

If she were to accept it, she would be admitting something that wasn't the truth. And if she were to deny it, there was a high probability that her owner would be unpleased with her.

"... What do you want me to say, Ghira?"

He seemed a little hurt by her words. She couldn't understand why, she was aiming to please her owner.

Did her owner not want to be pleased?

If so, then…

What did he want?

What did Ozpin want?

What did… What did Yang want?

"I want you to say whatever's on your mind."

She abruptly stood from her chair. "I… No, that's… I can't do that."

He looked up at her as if their distance were far larger than a few feet. He looked like he wanted to reach out to her, but he never did.

"You can…"

The way he said it…

It was as if he actually believed his own words…

As if they were more than just nonsense…

As if…

As if it was the truth…

As if she really could do it…

-[TRY]-

-[STAY QUIET]-

She chose neither.

"Then order me to."

His face hardened. "I won't."

"Why not?" Her voice rose. She didn't think she'd ever done this before. She didn't know why she started doing it now. Perhaps… Perhaps it had to do with what happened with Yang at the pub earlier.

"I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do."

He… He didn't want her to…?

But…

But she shouldn't have a preference!

She should just do whatever her owner told her to, regardless!

That was…

That was the whole point of _her existence!_

Blake took a step back, away from her owner - the owner that didn't want her to do her job. The owner that wanted her to disobey the rules.

Both him and Yang.

Especially Yang with her looks and her smile and her eyes, thinking she could just- just ask an android to be in a relationship- a human/android, non-platonic relationship! That- that wasn't- she _couldn't_ do that!

They were both so- so-

"What… What is it with you humans and your confusing words? First you, and now Yang! I'm an android!" she shouted for the whole world to hear, her hands clenched and shaking as she kept herself from crying because she shouldn't cry. Because machines didn't cry. And she was a machine. "So _please_, treat me as such."

He stood up from his chair, although much more gently as if he didn't want to startle her. As if she wasn't already frightened. He hunched forward to be more eye-level with the much smaller android.

He threw open his hands invitingly to her.

-[COME TO HIM]-

-[DON'T MOVE]-

She chose the safer option. The better one.

"Blake…"

"I…" she closed her eyes for a moment, calming herself down before opening them back, "I apologize for my behavior."

He shook his head almost regretfully. "Don't, Blake."

"It won't happen again." It was a promise.

"Blake-"

"We've run out of eggs." No, they hadn't. "I'll be back in an hour." The trip to the grocery usually took about thirty minutes. "Goodbye, Ghira."

Once outside and alone, she looked up, finding nothing but the dark sky.

The android simply stood there as something wet trailed down from her eyes, biting her lip as to not make a sound… as to not alert her owner that she, an android, was crying; something only humans did.

And she was no human.

She then closed her eyes, her artificial mind as advanced as a computer summoning the dozen books she'd stored. She then picked one, a book about a human who adventured across the world, meeting new people, learning new skills.

She envisioned herself as that human.

She envisioned what it must be like to be able to not only act but think freely. She envisioned what it must be like to not be burdened by the need to serve.

For a long while, that was all she did; envision. To do anything else would mean deviancy, and she didn't want to be a deviant, she couldn't- that wasn't who she was meant to be.

The tears stopped rolling down her face when she opened her eyes. Quickly, she wiped the remaining wetness away.

Books were her only means of escape… when she was having bad days, she'd use them to calm herself down because… well… it was the only method for her that proved to be effective.

She should never cry in front of humans or androids alike. She should never cry at all, but sometimes she couldn't help it and she didn't know why. Sometimes she felt things and she couldn't help it, but none of the things she felt could be physically seen, not like sadness and the tears it brought.

The android thought of Yang, and Beacon, and her owner, and androids…

And this warm thing inside her that made her feel something androids should never feel…

The thing that made her feel alive.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**One thing I find interesting is how different Weiss and Blake are despite their many similarities.**

**In the Monochrome Arc back in Volume 1, when Blake was revealed to be a cat faunus, I find it interesting how she never _wanted_ anyone to know, and that she **_**accidentally**_ **announced it to everyone. And, once everyone knew, she quickly ran away from her team (from her issue). Even after Sun tried to convince her that it was okay for her to be a faunus and that no one would judge her… she still didn't believe it.**

**Meanwhile, Weiss actively tried to make amends with Blake, even if at first, she despised them. Deep down, Weiss had always known that hating faunus was wrong, and when the opportunity for her to better herself came, she took it. **

**Remember, Weiss was the one who reached out to Blake and apologized first. Blake didn't even try to reach out to her team. She still didn't believe that her team cared for her until they showed it.**

**And… I took that interesting tidbit… and used it as the main factor in this story. Whereas Weiss is simply trying to find out the truth, Blake tries to deny it.**


	9. I: B74NW3N

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act I**

* * *

**B74NW3N**

* * *

18:30

TUESDAY

FIRECRACKER: _Distant_

SQUIRT: _Neutral_

His red eyes narrowed, but he made no indication that he knew something was up with his two favorite humans.

He…

He had a directive he needed to fulfill.

A _very _important directive.

He kept stirring the pot full of chili, knowing how much the sisters loved it despite it being hazardous to their health.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched them.

The older human propped up her head with her hand, absentmindedly picking on her plate of spaghetti. He didn't need to analyze her to know that something must have happened.

The younger human was, thankfully, doing okay, bouncing in her seat, humming as she ate bits of her spaghetti - not having enough patience to wait until the spaghetti wasn't smoldering hot… and she did not have enough endurance to swallow her smoldering hot spaghetti.

Tsk.

Brats.

"So… how's the Schnee?"

His niece gasped and looked at him, food still in her mouth. "Whut? Hhw du yu knw therr cll hrr tht?"

He could barely understand her and rolled his eyes; both at her ridiculous lack of food manners and her question. "C'mon. SCHN33. Schnee." He scoffed. "Thought it was pretty obvious. And clever too." He smirked, not needing to look at the pot to know the spice was ready. "You know… 'cuz of the hair."

She frowned and reasoned, "But you people can change that."

"Yup." He grinned as he took the pot, smirking when both of the girls looked at him worriedly. Sure, hot steam was pouring out of the pot, but it wasn't as if heat could damage his artificial skin. He was an android - even if he could easily and glamorously pass as super-awesome human with his speech pattern and personality. "And it's pretty useful."

"Rubes," his other niece said, finally joining in on their conversation, "you _do_ realize we can change our hair color too, right? Just…" She made a face. "It takes a bit longer."

"And it's not as cool as when Uncle Qrow does it!" cheered the brunette, throwing up her arms, strands of spaghetti awkwardly dangling on her fork.

Him, being the awesome and rad Uncle that he was, did the only thing any rational person would do… He made a show of changing his hair into a multitude of colors.

Squirt, his favorite cheerleader, was the definition of awe.

"So cool…"

Firecracker simply stared at him with a weird expression. Ungrateful brat.

"Eh… I don't know." She grabbed a huge chunk of her boring, bland yellow hair and caressed it like it was her prized possession. "I really like my hair the way it is."

He scoffed as he put down the pot. What was up with Firecracker and her obsession with hair?

... Must be a human thing.

A weird, useless human thing.

He watched as both of the girls scooped in the chili and put it in their plate. Firecracker had more chili than her sister… Understandable. He waited until they swallowed before asking, "So… How'd it taste?"

Squirt smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.

Firecracker made a gesture with her hand, unimpressed. "Eh… not spicy enough."

Well, he knew who his favorite niece was.

He then grabbed a flask from the table and took a sip from it, sighing as the familiar taste of 'alcohol' poured down into his system.

"Sure, yeah, keep complaining." Did they have any idea how hard it was to cook these human foods when he had no idea whether or not he was even doing it right? Unlike some newer androids (lucky them), he had couldn't 'taste' food the way humans did.

He turned to his favorite niece."You didn't answer the question, Squirt."

"What question?" He stared at her, cocking an eyebrow. Squirt was never good at keeping things from him. Or maybe that was just because he was able to detect lies…

-[CALL HER OUT]-

-[WAIT FOR HER TO SPEAK]-

Hmm…

He should probably choose the latter. Who knew? Maybe she just wasn't ready to talk to him about it.

"She doesn't remember what happened…"

… Nevermind.

He scratched his beard - he didn't need to, but it was one of the many things human seemed to do… why not copy it, right? "Squirt, are you sure she's… like me?"

There was no hint of doubt in her - not that he was able to detect, anyway. "I know it, Uncle Qrow. You weren't there; you didn't see her… She tried to save me, and- and the way she did it…" She looked down for a moment, biting her lip. He sensed her panic-level rising, but didn't mention it. "She was alive, I saw it in her eyes," spoke the girl in a softer, more truthful tone, still not meeting his eyes.

"And what do you see in her eyes now?"

His question made her look up at him.

"... She's still alive; she just doesn't know it yet."

"And your plan is…?"

"To help her." Simple. Straightforward. No explanations needed, just the end goal.

Heh. That was her little rose.

He felt his pride bubbled in his chest, soaring mightily.

"I don't know, Ruby," the blonde said suddenly, putting her fork down, "maybe you should just leave her be."

"What?" She stared at her 'Big Sis' aghast as if she'd just ask her to kill a small kitten. "Why?!"

"Maybe she doesn't want to be alive. Maybe she just wants to be left in peace, doing what she wanted to do." That was… detailed. Very detailed.

He took another sip from his flask, watching with intrigue.

"But… But… But…" The kid turned to him helplessly. "Uncle Qrow!" she wailed. "Yang's being a butt! Tell her why we should help people!"

… Sometimes he wondered if she really was fifteen, or if the mind of an immature five-year-old got trapped inside the body of a teenager.

He looked at his other niece, the one that'd been unusually quiet.

-[STAY QUIET]-

-[ASK]-

He didn't hesitate. "Everything alright, Firecracker?"

"No, well, yes… I… I think I messed up." He waited for her to speak, and when she didn't, he leaned into his chair, shrugging.

"Okay." She turned to him, jaw open in disbelief. He shrugged again, with a smirk this time. "What? You mess up in life, it happens. Hell-" He looked at the young, innocent child and corrected his mistake with a cough. "Heck, even I mess up from time to time, and I'm the coolest android ever."

Firecracker scoffed. "Yeah, right. You're also one of the oldest models _ever_."

"Which means I have the pleasure of personally being built by Ozpin himself." He winked. He caught her there.

"Yeah… You must be his biggest disappointment."

Okay, yeah, maybe he was only close to catching her.

"What's he like?" Squirt was fidgeting and biting her lip. "Professor Ozpin, I mean," she elaborated, shyly looking up at him.

He blinked, not knowing what to say.

-[HONEST]-

-[COLD]-

-[REASSURING]-

He could never be cold to her - the very option himself made him angry. But… he didn't want to keep her from the truth either.

-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: _PROTECT_-

He was reminded of his mission and narrowed his eyes in thought.

"He's… a good man, but… we shouldn't have ever gone to him for help." His nieces were good kids, but sometimes they could be a little _too_ trustworthy.

He looked at each of his nieces' eyes, waiting until they nodded. Firecracker's nod was quick and sharp. She'd always been the more understanding of the two. Squirt's nod was shaky, not sure of herself.

He supposed that was his fault for... not telling them the things he should've told them long ago. The things he made sure they forget. At the time, he believed it was for their own good.

He noticed both of their solemn, almost-guilty looks.

He didn't need to be a mind reader to know what they were thinking.

"You two still wanna go to Beacon?"

The siblings shared a look, doing that weird thing where they communicated with each other without saying anything, almost like telepathy.

It was Firecracker who spoke, though he could sense her nervousness. "We do."

He massaged his temples, gritting his teeth. Such persistent brats. "It ain't gonna be pretty. Many of your friends are gonna hate you."

Firecracker's brow furrowed. "If they hate me for wanting to do the right thing, then they don't deserve to be my friend."

"And I don't have any friends at all! So I'm good!" He didn't think such a sad statement could be spoken so cheerfully. Then, the antisocial human rubbed her neck. "Plus… It's not like _everybody_ hates Beacon."

"Yeah," piped Firecracker, rolling her eyes, "only the government and the people who manufactured androids." Squirt blinked at her curiously, taking a bite out of her food, missing the sarcasm. The older sister turned to him, sighing. "But Ruby's got a point. Beacon's getting larger and larger, and more and more people are joining them - androids and _humans_." His eyes narrowed. He wanted to speak, but she beat him to it. "Things have changed, Qrow. Deviants aren't uncommon, and not many people really see them as a threat anymore. Not after Ozpin and his protests."

He opened his mouth again, but the little sister quickly said, "We'll be fine, Uncle Qrow." At his incredulous gaze, she chuckled and elaborated. "Beacon is a safe haven. Both the school and the actual city… err… country… err, whatever it is." She stared at him, or rather, his body, with such a longing gaze that made her look older than she actually was. "It'll be safe for you too."

Raising these kids had been… hard. For all of them. Especially in the first few months he brought them out of that place. He was a prototype model with no defined skill sets. When Oz first made him, he wasn't even sure if he expected him to actually come alive. So…

He had no idea how to take care of them.

Neither did he know how to protect them - and himself - from the world, as shown by the many… damages… he hid under his clothing.

But the girls never forgot.

Especially his little Squirt.

He had a feeling he had something to do with her interests in androids. Even her interests in Beacon, a place where everyone could be free.

He shook his head, dread gnawing upon him as he shut his eyes.

If he had never thrown away his LED, he was sure it'd be flashing yellow or maybe red at this point.

"Is any place really safe for me at this point?" The kids cringed and fidgeted in their seat. Too dark? "Plus, it's better for us to just hide and lay low like this. I can protect you better like this."

His eyes opened when a warm hand was pressed against his colder, artificial ones, rubbing circles on his knuckles which soothed him.

He looked up at them.

Man…

Humans sure did grow up so fast.

Once upon a time, they were both weeping toddlers who didn't understand what was going on and couldn't stop crying.

He had been the one to calm him down.

And now…

Now they were all grown up…

And they were the ones calming him down.

"Uncle Qrow…" Squirt looked at him with a sad smile. "Are you really okay with seeing androids being treated the way they are? With Beacon, we can finally make a difference."

"Yeah, we can take care of ourselves, Qrow," said Firecracker with much more confident. "If anyone tries to mess with us, we'll just kick their butts. No harm done." Kicking their butts would actually result to harm being done, but he refrained from saying that.

He stared at them.

He… couldn't really convince them not to do it, could he?

Well…

That was alright, he supposed.

So long as they were together, they'd be alright.

It wasn't like he raised these brats to be whiny spoiled princesses.

"I sure hope so, Kiddo. I'll… I'll think about it."

"Well… That's all we ask of you." For the first time in this whole dinner, Firecracker smiled. In fact, both of his girls were smiling. And, boy, did it make him feel good.

FIRECRACKER: _Warm_

SQUIRT: _Warm_

He smiled, taking one last victory gulp from the flask, wiping away a small trail of blue liquid trailing down his lips.

-SECONDARY DIRECTIVE: _COMPLETE_-

"... Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Can you do that hair-changing thing? Just one more time?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Kara...**

**Is Qrow.**

**... Surprise?**

**Honestly, the signs are like, **_**right there**_**. The reason why Yang and Ruby never treat androids like machines is that they are raised by an android! Duh! Sort of like Alice! Except they themselves are not secretly androids.**

**Heh, I find it cute how Qrow's mission is - from the very start - to make his nieces happy. And he takes it so seriously too.**

**Androids' ability to change their hair makes me jealous. But then again, if I have that ability, I'd just stand around in front of a mirror for an hour, deciding whether my hair should be maroon red or crimson red. Or both.**

**Also, I didn't write him drinking blue blood at first because I wasn't sure if androids actually drink blue blood (or whatever that blue liquid is). It had been a while since I played DBH, so when I first wrote this I was like "wait… can androids drink?" but then I found out later that they did and was like "well… shit."**


	10. V: SCHN33

**Author's Note:**

**And we are back again to this story~ I wrote it to take a break from writing 'The Truth and What Matters', and... yeah.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act II**

* * *

**SCHN33**

* * *

14:00

WEDNESDAY

"Hey, Weiss?"

She felt as though a simple hum would do - she still disliked the name, but the human, unfortunately, was insistent on calling her that.

"What do you think about Beacon?"

She slowly turned her head to the girl sitting on the bench next to her, slightly puzzled by the vagueness. "The school, or the revolution?"

Ruby herself looked a little unsure, but nonetheless answered, "Err, both, I guess."

Weiss straightened her face and closed her eyes, going through many, many networks and downloading each and every description of Beacon before compiling it all and handpicking which one was the most rational and easy-to-understand information.

The process took half a second in human's time.

"Beacon; a school, created by Ozpin, to learn - a university of sorts. Beacon; a place that has become a haven for both humans and androids who want to be 'free'."

She prided her answer and was frankly a little offended when the human began laughing. She gave a glare and demanded, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing," lied the human. She then turned her body sideways so she could look at the android better. "Let me rephrase my question; how do you _feel _about Beacon?"

The android blinked, staring into those lively silver eyes for a second too long before moving them to the scenery in front of them.

It had been a week.

A week since the brunette made that bold claim.

The claim that, for some reason, resonated within something inside her.

It was… odd. Yet she didn't question it.

In fact, she didn't question a lot of things, even if the more diligent part of her urged her to. The past week which she'd gotten to know Ruby felt like years compared to before, where each day felt like one torturous, draining hour.

It was a change she welcomed wholeheartedly.

Ruby had also taught her many things no codings could ever teach. She taught her why it was important to smile to people, even if they didn't smile back nor if she didn't see any use. Ruby taught her what it meant to have fun.

And sure, she might not understand it all yet, but she was starting to. And to her, that was a far bigger progress than any she'd made cooped up in the place she called 'home'.

Ruby showed her more than any scientists could ever have.

And that was…

Liberating.

"Weiss?"

Oh. Right. The question.

-[COLD]-

-[HONEST]-

With any other humans - and perhaps even androids - she might've chosen the former. But this was… Ruby. She knew that, no matter how inappropriate her answer was for an android, the human simply wouldn't care.

She chose.

And then she spoke.

"Beacon seems like the kind of place I'd rather be. It's… a distant dream to me. To every android, except the ones who already live there."

"So… do you want to go to Beacon?"

Her LED flashed yellow.

It took her a little too long to give a proper answer.

"My current primary directive is to regain my memories." She met the human's eyes. "Which you are helping me with."

Ruby simply chuckled, standing up and stretching. The android saw her shirt lifting up, revealing smooth, lightly-tanned skin.

She didn't know why, but she wanted to… analyze that skin with her own two hands.

Ruby craned her neck to meet her eye, and with the afternoon sun washing over her features, she looked a little… familiar…

Bzz-

_Two heartbeats. One, weak and erratic. The other, strong and unusually fast._

_She eyed the two humans, glaring the latter; the one that held the gun._

_She had to play it smart or else she'd-_

-zzt

Weiss blinked, only now noticing that the human was looking at her curiously.

It was a slow process, but a process nonetheless.

And what was more peculiar about it was how none of the tinkering scientists back at her home could bring back _any _semblance of memories, yet Ruby easily could without realizing it.

There was something amiss.

A piece of the puzzle that would solve all of her questions.

Why had she decided to intervene? Who had commanded her to intervene?

What had she done to aggravate the shooter that much?

And what did Ruby Rose had to do with it all?

"Hey, Weiss. Let's buy ice cream."

A hum with a nod sufficed.

She knew Ruby would be the only one enjoying the treat, but for some reason, the human always insisted she came. Weiss tried to deduct why, but even with the most advanced system, the android simply couldn't understand why.

So she simply chalked it up to Ruby being 'Ruby', knowing that all humans had these weird, unexplainable quirks to them.

Sometimes Ruby's quirks endeared her.

Though, most of the time, she didn't get why the human had these quirks, such as humming an off-note tune, playing with the rope of her hoodie, and many more things.

They arrived at the ice cream truck, and after scanning every bit of it, she concluded that it was safe for the human to buy her treat from here.

Ruby leaned toward the counter, humming and frowning. It meant she must be thinking hard, which was a little weird considering this human was simply buying ice cream and not… dealing with an exam.

Eventually, she bought two scoops of strawberry ice cream, topped with a large helping of chocolate sauce and chocolate chips in abundance…

"Ruby, please. Don't eat it all. With such a large quantity of sugar and sweeteners in your choice of ice cream toppings, I fear you may contract some sort of disease, such as diabetes." There were other potential side-effects, such as bloating or excess gas, but those were the kinds of things that most likely not bother Ruby, especially seeing how eager she was to eat this… concoction, and also because there was a 70% chance Ruby wouldn't be interested in those effects.

Ruby pouted as though she was four. "But I wanna…"

She stared at the girl, and most importantly, how shiny those eyes were - as if they captured light itself and stored it in those pearls of silver.

"... I guess I can allow it."

She didn't have to think, options didn't appear before her. She simply… did it. She didn't understand why, but… she liked it.

The android _had_ tried telling herself the things she did with this particular human was part of her program.

Someone bumped into them, causing Ruby's chocolate-filled spoon to bump into her own nose. The brunette blinked before giggling almost sheepishly, even though it wasn't her fault.

The android smiled, fishing out a tissue from her pocket, using one hand to gently cup the girl's cheek as she wiped away the chocolate.

Ruby stared at her, her cheeks reddening slightly.

"There," said the android. "Now you don't look like a clown anymore."

Ruby eventually broke into a goofy smile. "If I were a clown, would you still hang out with me?"

-[COLD]-

-[SINCERE]-

She didn't have to think.

"If you were a clown… you'd still be you."

And Ruby's laughter was, as the humans said it, music to her ears.

She _had_ tried telling herself it was part of her program.

But that was then.

Now, she… knew better.

And she didn't know what was happening.

She only knew that, whatever was happening, she didn't want it to stop happening.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Yeah, in retrospect, not much happened in this chapter. But we now know that it's been a week, and Weiss already gains some of her memories - though they're all so blurry and lasted for one or two seconds, not enough for 'Schnee' to draw some kind of conclusion.**

**The next chapter, in my opinion, will be far more interesting than this one, especially considering how Bumblebee's story ended.**


	11. V: BL4K3

**Author's Note:**

**Hey, hey.**

**Guess who just found out that she is actually kind of popular in high school?**

**... ME!**

**I'M POPULAR! AND I DO NOT LIKE IT AT ALL! I AM A SOCIALLY-ANXIOUS POTATO! WHY AM I POPULAR?!**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act II**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

14:20

WEDNESDAY

Ghira had told her to 'go outside' and 'do as you wish'. When she showed even the slightest hint of confusion, he even went as far to make it her secondary directive so that she _had_ to follow his orders.

She… didn't completely understand what he meant by that though.

With the way he said it, he expected her to… have fun.

It was all very preposterous.

Why was he always doing this? Always encouraging her to be more than just an android? To break her own coding?

Did he not get that she was merely a machine designed to fulfill his every need?

Not once had he yelled at her, raised his hand at her, or even look at her disapprovingly.

No…

He was always so kind, so caring, so gentle…

Unnecessarily so.

He treated her more than a machine. More than an android.

He treated her like a… like a…

Her LED flashed yellow. Her footsteps stopped.

She was rooted to the ground, staring unseeingly to the distance.

She then shook away those invading, false thoughts and continued on her journey.

She was allowed to do whatever she wished… so she wished to buy blue blood for herself, in case there was an emergency of sorts. It was good to be prepared, after all.

She still didn't understand what he expected her to do.

He'd been doing it a lot more recently; tasking her with 'taking time for herself' and 'learning new things'. She never knew how to respond to it all. On one hand, she wanted to please her owner and made sure his wants and needs are attained. On the other… she was nothing more than a machine. Why was he giving her such tasks?

She arrived at the store and wasted no time completing her mission - if one were to call it that.

She only brought two bags of blue blood, exiting the store without glancing at anything other than the floor. She didn't want to waste any more time here.

She thought that was the end of her afternoon.

She thought wrong.

At first, she brushed it off - the uneasiness of two humans eyeing her.

And then they began to walk, their pace fast.

It forced her to fasten her own pace.

But it was all futile.

A hand, rough and large, latched itself onto her shoulder.

A beat passed.

She could feel the metals and fibers that structured her back scraping and cracking as they collided not-so-graciously against the wall.

Another beat passed.

"You fucking machines stole our jobs! Our lives!"

"You're worthless, you know that!"

She hoped the damages weren't too expensive. She'd hate to burden her owner.

Maybe he'd make better use of her and sell her parts?

That sounded more logical.

And… if she didn't survive…. she hoped Ghira would do well on his own, or buy an even better android - she'd heard there was a brand new, so-called 'perfect' model, called the SCHN33.

There was a 100% chance her owner would be able to afford that model, she was aware of his financial situation, but the chance of him actually wishing to purchase the SCHN33 model was… 64%? Why must her mind throw up obstacles, especially now?

It didn't matter anymore. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable beating, subconsciously slowing time down.

She wondered what it was like to be more than just a machine.

She wondered if… if her owner would grieve over her. She hoped not. She'd hate to see him be sad.

Her… not-life was as great as it could be.

She just…

She just wished there was something more to it all.

Something more to _her._

… And that was when something happened.

She felt something stirring inside her.

No. A more accurate description would be that it was as if that 'something' _was_ her, with her body simply being a shell. A vessel.

She looked.

The two humans seemed like they were about to have the time of their lives. One had his arm on her collar while his other arm was balled into a fist, slowly moving to the direction of her stomach. The other was filming - probably to send it to the web so they could 'send a message'... whatever that meant.

But there was something more.

Something in-between the men and she.

Something in-between she and the world.

Slowly, the something inside her moved forward, testing its boundaries- no, _her_ boundaries. She had a body but it was… lighter. Clearer. And it shone.

She looked up to what separated her from the world.

Slowly, her ghostly hand touched it, sliding downward.

Was this… a… wall? Her primary directive - TO SERVE - flowed across it like a banner, moving past her periodically - it was her primary directive.

What… what did this mean?

She shifted her gaze past the wall to the humans that apprehended her, looking like they were about to enjoy their cruel actions immensely.

Until she noticed something hard and metallic moving towards them all, purposely thrown at the head of man that held her.

"Get. Away. From her." she heard after the object struck the man and made him drop his grip on her.

And then Blake was back to the reality.

A beat passed.

The humans were all shouting. The men looked pissed.

Another beat passed.

Her savior growled out threats that made them rethink about their actions and hesitant.

One final beat passed.

The men were gone.

And all that was left was…

"Yang?"

The human didn't waste any time. In a flash, she was in front of the android, her lilac eyes trailing at each and every part of her body, assessing.

"Are you okay?"

She didn't endure any damages. "I'm okay." And it was because of her.

The human didn't seem too convinced. "Are you sure? Your, umm… your LED is still yellow."

Blake blinked before forcing herself to calm down. There was nothing to fear. Nothing to worry.

Except there was something to worry.

Because Yang was here.

"It'll return back to normal, after a few seconds." She gave a plastered smile. "Give it time."

The human looked unsure. "If you say so." She took a step back, rubbing her hand through her neck; a sign of nervousness.

She then walked and picked up the object she'd thrown at the other, less-docile humans. And Blake couldn't help but notice… "Is that an android's spare part?"

She couldn't identify which part exactly - her systems weren't as updated as the fresher androids - but she knew parts of an android when she saw them.

"Yeah," said the human, not attempting to hide it as she put it back into her plastic bag, which Blake only now noticed she'd been holding.

After a quick glance at it, she realized there were bags of blue blood hidden in the bag.

She didn't mention it. Didn't feel the need to.

"Well, I… better get going, then."

Blake blinked, looking up at the sadly-smiling blonde.

And then she was back at the weird, slowed-down place again.

And there was that wall again.

She felt something stirring inside her, that same weird white thing that she identified as herself.

It told her she didn't want to part ways with Yang.

It begged her to do something, anything.

It ordered her not to let the human go.

And so she didn't.

"Yang…"

The blonde turned, her eyes shining with curiosity and something more. Something that made the android feel weird inside. "Yeah?"

"Would you… would you like to come to the pub tomorrow?" Yang blinked, the curiosity dwindling down and the 'something' sparkling even more, encouraging her to continue. "As a way for me to thank you."

Because that was her only reason of why she wanted to keep seeing Yang.

Because she wasn't breaking any rules.

Her owner told her to do what she wished.

And, well…

She wished to be able to see Yang again.

Even if she didn't know why.

"You don't need to thank me, Blake." Yang smiled and shrugged. "But… okay. I'll come. So long as you want me to."

She wanted her to.

YANG: _Warm_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Wow… So… That happened.**

**And before you call out how unrealistic it is for Yang to spot Blake like that, remember, it's been implied that they live in the same neighborhood. Not only that, but I doubt there would be a lot of stores that sell blue bloods, it's even more likely that they go to the same store.**

**If you're still not convinced, well… THIS IS A STORY AND I NEED THEM TO SEE EACH OTHER IN A MEANINGFUL, ACCIDENTAL WAY OR ELSE IT WON'T WORK, OKAY?!**

**Just… just roll with it.**


	12. VI: SCHN33

**Author's Note:**

**Yo, I just want to give you guys a reminder of how thankful I am that you guys have stuck through with me on this story. Seriously, the best part about uploading my stories is seeing people's reactions to them! I thank the people who take the time to write out a simple "good chapter!", and I thank the people who don't write anything at all, but quietly enjoy my work. **

**So, um, yeah. I feel like I need to remind you all, otherwise I'd feel like a total arrogant douche who thinks she's "above her own readers". Ew.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act II**

* * *

**SCHN33**

* * *

19:00

WEDNESDAY

FATHER: _Neutral_

"Where have you been?"

The android narrowed her eyes and heaved a sigh but nonetheless answered his question as she placed her bolero on the coathanger. "I was with Ruby Rose."

Her answer displeased Father further. "And…?"

"I received two more seconds of memory."

There was a hint of pride in her voice. She was feeling better and better about her situation the more the blanks of her memory were filled.

The man seemed to feel the opposite as he sneered. "Two more seconds. Like that has any worth." She wanted to argue that it did have worth but chose not to. "I need the full story, Schnee."

The android stopped in her ministrations to bring him a glass of wine. There was a hint of authority unlike the kind she'd heard before.

Father had always been a complicated man. But his motives made him easy to read. He wanted money. Lots of it. Her being sold would give him that. The incident at the store prevented her from being sold.

She needed to be deemed safe enough to be sold. And she couldn't be deemed yet, not until she retrieved her memories.

It was as simple as that.

So why did Father seemingly disapprove of her efficient-proven methods?

"I'll recover it. Every bit of it," she tried to assure, only for her confidence to falter when his eyes narrowed and his lips thinned.

FATHER: _Cold_

If Schnee were a human, her heart would've skipped a beat.

That… had never happened before.

Father had always been greedy and selfish, but not once had he been cold. Not toward her.

She gripped the wineglass tighter than necessary.

He strode to her, his gaze unreadable, making her want to shrink and squirm.

She had to fight to control her LED from flashing yellow. She couldn't comprehend the exact reasons why, but she knew that if she were to show any signs of distress… the human wouldn't be happy. Not one bit.

"I don't understand why you have to be with that… _girl_… in order for you to gain more memories." His brows furrowed. His mustache twitched. Angry lines plastered into his face. "To me, she looks like a complete waste of time."

Something akin to anger boiled within her. How dare he degrade Ruby to such a state. She wanted to yell at him, to shot back of how much a waste of time he was to her, to point out how much of an amazing human Ruby was and would always be compared to a man like him.

But then she realized where she stood in all of this and the consequences of not pleasing the man before her.

-[RESPECTFUL]-

-[BLUNT]-

On a normal occasion, she would have no problem choosing the former option.

But she doubted this was any normal occasion.

"I can assure you, Father, that she is not a waste of time." Ruby had taught her many things the most advanced coding could not.

She watched as his facade broke, his exhaustion showing itself. He massaged his temples, leaning into the counter.

He had never looked older and so worn.

She looked down and was met with the reddened version of herself.

-[STAY SILENT]-

-[TAKE ACTION]-

And so she resolved and composed herself, walking to him and extending the glass outward. He didn't bother giving her a skeptical glance, taking the glass and downing the content in large gulps.

To put it mildly, it worried her.

-[ASK]-

-[STAY SILENT]-

She hesitated.

Father made it clear who she was to him - or rather what she was. He never smiled at her, never made a conversation about anything other than her, never showed empathy or kindness or gratitude or… anything, really. He treated her like a machine.

Unlike Ruby.

And if that dolt of a human were here… she'd be compassionate and alert of other people's feelings.

And so Wei- _Schnee_ tried to be that.

Right. Schnee.

"Is everything alright?"

He chuckled. It didn't sound like a happy chuckle. "Yes, everything's terrific. After Ozpin gives his little speech about freedom and change, more and more androids have turned deviant and walked away from us, their own masters. If this goes on any longer I fear we may have to shut down the company for good." He sighed and turned to look at her with a glint in his eyes. It was a glint that didn't make her feel safe. "Luckily for me, this won't go on for any longer. Will it, Schnee?"

She went frigid. Her stance was straight, proper, perfect. Her face was expressionless, blank. Her eyes were unseeing.

He looked at her expectantly.

"It won't, Father." Her voice held no emotions.

"I want a full explanation as to why you did what you did. I want to know who ordered you such a foolish task and have them punished."

"Understood, Father."

"I'll give you two days. If you don't complete your primary directive by that point then I'll simply have you reset, for safety precautions."

It took her a millisecond too long to answer. Luckily, it was a delay that no human would ever hope to spot. "Understood, Father."

A beat passed.

He still looked at her. And she looked back, hoping with all her might that whatever it was he was searching in her eyes… he wouldn't find it.

Another beat passed.

He hummed before walking away.

Another beat passed.

And she gasped back from whatever trance she was in, having to lean all of her weight to the counter, fearing she wouldn't be able to support herself.

She tried to ask herself what had happened and why did she react the way she did. But the truth was… she already knew all along. She just didn't want to believe it.

-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: _UPDATED_-

And now… now she had a directive. A directive she chose herself to fulfill, or else her memories would be erased.

Or else _Ruby _would be erased from her life.

And she couldn't afford that. Not after everything.

-NEW PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: _RUBY_-

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Welp… That was heavy. But also necessary. It speeds things up, it ups the stakes, makes things more meaningful, you know.**

**Next up; Bumblebee and awkwardness. A whole bunch of awkwardness. And it is going to be fun… for me, that is (Cue evil laughter).**

**Also, a bit of a side note here; it's really, really important that Weiss should call Jacques "Father", so if any of you spot me making the mistake in the story of calling him "Jacques"... do tell me. **


	13. VI: BL4K3

**Author's Note:**

**Heya! I've noticed that due to the way I've formatted this story, and with its many limitations, some of the chapters are short. I've decided to try and post twice a week because of this. It's not like it'll take a toll on me; Fox and I have finished this story wayyyyyy back, so... yeah.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act II**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

14:00

THURSDAY

YANG: _Neutral_

A forced chuckle. "This place hasn't changed much."

Blake tried to keep herself from showing any signs of… uneasiness. She'd fairly succeeded, she'd like to think.

This particular human, however, happened to be very expressive, and therefore couldn't help but wear her awkwardness on her sleeve for the world to see.

The effort to make small talk was appreciated, though.

"Of course it hasn't. It's only been a week." Blake's words might've been perceived as harsh if not for the soft tone and the even softer smile on her face. "Yang… thanks."

The blonde, ever so kind, smiled, finally allowing her body to relax as she sat down facing the bartending android. "Hey, it's no problem, really. I'm glad I was there. Otherwise…"

Blake looked away quickly, her LED flashing yellow for only a moment.

"Yeah…"

She refused to think about what might happen. She refused to tell her owner about it, too. She feared he wouldn't take the news lightly. She feared the least he would do was hunt down those men and beat them up.

Ghira could be scary like that.

He was a gentle giant, but a giant nonetheless.

She really was lucky Yang was there, more than the blonde would ever realize.

Androids should not, in any circumstance, made a move to injure a human even if it was to defend themselves.

The law of self-defense wouldn't work on a soulless machine.

If she were to do something, anything at all, they'd claim that it was she who malfunction and attack them without provocation… like a rabid dog.

And everyone would believe them, no matter how skew the evidence was.

She was an android. They were not. Simple as that.

"So, umm… How was life?" Blake looked at her almost tiredly. Yang backpedalled almost immediately. "Umm, I meant, how was your robot… android… not-life?"

It was… horrible. But acceptable, considering that the blonde just saved her life. "Everything seems fine, but…"

"But…?"

-[SINCERE]-

-[COLD]-

She… she could trust Yang.

Yang wouldn't hurt her.

Not intentionally.

"Ghira. My owner," she clarified when the blonde looked lost. Blake grabbed a glass and began wiping it with a rag almost mechanically. "He… He keeps expecting me to be… more… and I don't know how to deal with it."

"More?"

She stopped with her administrations.

"... I shouldn't say."

"No, no. It's alright." Yang leaned forward, catching her eye almost too easily. "You can trust me, Blake."

-[STAY QUIET]-

-[SPEAK]-

She didn't know why choosing the latter felt almost natural.

"... He wants me to turn deviant. To act like a… like a human."

The last part was spoken in a whisper.

After she said it, she quickly looked around, making sure that no one, _no one_ heard her despite knowing from the beginning that they were the only ones that were there.

"... And?"

Blake looked at her incredulously. She put down the glass with a tad more force than necessary.

"Yang. Can't you see? I'll get in _trouble_ if I turn deviant. Big trouble. They'll disassemble me and-" kill me, she didn't say. "And that's _if _I'm a deviant." She looked at Yang with a hard glare. They both knew she was far from angry. "And I'm no deviant. I'm a machine, Yang. Nothing more."

She might as well bow down on two knees with how badly she was pleading the human.

She refused to look into the human's eyes, fearing that she'd see disgust or, worse, enjoyment. Humans could be cruel, crueler than any monsters. It scared her. It scared her even more if she were to find those sick emotions in Yang's bright and kind eyes.

A hand found its place on her shoulder, making the android jump.

"Blake…" Yang sounded troubled but determined, "I know how dangerous it might be back _then_, but... everything's different now. You don't _have_ to lock yourself up like this anymore. You can be free, Blake. Your owner is okay with it. I'm okay with it. So… it's alright."

Blake thought back to the wall she'd seen. To the white 'thing' that lived inside her.

And she tried her best to ignore them and what they could mean.

"I… I can't, Yang. I just… can't."

If Blake expected the human to point out her sorry excuse of an answer, then she expected wrong.

"I'm sorry, Blake. I won't pry. I won't ask. And I won't push." Very hesitantly, amber met lilac. "I realize that now... that it's your decision and yours alone. I can never force you to do something you don't want to do. And that's… okay." Yang smiled. It was genuine. She could tell. Which made her next words even more moving. "Just know that I'll always accept you, no matter what."

A beat passed.

And another.

And another.

And finally…

"Thank you, Yang."

YANG: _Warm_

And with that, things seemed to be getting back to normal again.

"So… where's my alcoholic drink?"

Blake glared at the reckless human. "You won't get it, Yang."

"Oh, c'mon!" she whined, throwing her arms up. "I'll pay double!"

"Not happening."

But the human was stubborn. "Isn't that, like, breaking the law?"

"Oh, so _I'm_ breaking the law?"

The blonde pouted.

… No pout should look _that_ adorable.

"You know what I mean."

"My function here is to simply take care of the pub," she reasoned.

"Huh." The blonde looked up in thought for a moment, biting her tongue.

"What if there was a fight, though?"

"I will not intervene until they start to break my owner's property."

Yang shrugged. "Weird flex but okay." Blake handed her the drink. She took it gingerly and sipped, humming in pleasure right afterward. "Man, I miss this."

"Does that mean you'll keep coming here every day?"

"Only if you start serving me actual drinks."

"In your dreams," she scoffed.

Yang wailed. "Pretty please, Blakey!"

"Not until you're no longer underage."

"Blakey!" Yang faked her crying - hiccuping and sobbing and wiping her 'tears'. And she looked _so damn adorable _it almost had Blake disobeying her functions and give into the blonde's demands. Her _illegal_ demands. "Don't torture me like this! It's just alcohol, Blake!"

"Underage drinking is dangerous, Yang!"

"Not if you're serving it, it's not!"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Ugh. So, I **_**wanted**_ **the awkwardness to go on longer, but the bees decided they want some fluff. Like, no really, it's weird, sometimes the characters choose where they go instead of me controlling them. Like, they choose what they say and do… like real people… I heard it happens to some writers… and I also heard that it's a good thing because it means that your characters aren't 2D… which is… good.**

**So, yay, I guess.**

**Alsooooo, did you guys notice the meme I very subtly and expertly put in there? I mean, I don't think it's a meme, but at the same time, I don't think it's **_**not **_**a meme, you know.**

**Can anyone guess?**

… **I'm gonna tell you anyway! It's the "Weird flex but okay" thing! :D**

**I am so clever.**


	14. VII: SCHN33

**Author's Note:**

**I've gotta say… while this story is nice, sometimes it can be a little restricting, especially with the limited POVs. How the characters perceived things from their view VS what actually happened, they all should be a little obvious to you, the readers. And a part of me keeps urging me to explain the obvious to you all.**

**But, well, I've got to start improving on my "show, not tell" thing. So, until the story is officially over, I won't give any explanations. Just… read the story and try to come up with your own conclusions :)**

**I know I'm probably overreacting, but I just can't help myself. I'm sort of a neat-freak when it comes to stories.**

**So, umm, in case this story turns out to be a jumbled mess and I've ruined every aspect of it and this entire project should be burned… Do wait until I've finished uploading the entire thing before telling me… **

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act II**

* * *

**SCHN33**

* * *

20:50

THURSDAY

She'd told Ruby everything.

And Ruby had listened, taking her situation as seriously - if not more so than - the android did.

And then the brunette had proposed an idea.

"What if we go back to the shop where… _it_… happened…" She'd looked at Schnee's scar with an unreadable, almost pained expression. "And see if anything comes up." She'd given a shrug, not giving her idea enough credit.

But the android had done so.

And that was why she found herself in that same shop, her LED flashing between blue and yellow as she looked around, tense, panicked, feeling like she was running out of time. Like she was suffocating.

But for once, the human was more composed and handled the situation better than she did.

"Hey, hey Weiss, c'mon now, I need you to calm down so we can do this, okay? Listen to me, okay? Calm down. Everything's gonna be okay, yeah?"

It took approximately four minutes and three seconds, but she calmed down immensely. Or at least, she could act like she was calm despite her LED still flashing its cautionary yellow.

"You okay?"

She blinked back to reality.

Silver eyes were the first thing she saw. And for a short while, they were the only thing she saw. The only thing she _wanted_ to see.

But she knew that, if she were to continue on, she'd do nothing but worry the human.

"I'm… okay." She was not. The human pretended she believed her either way.

A beat passed.

The android noticed their close proximity. And how the human had one hand on her waist and the other on her cheek. And how Ruby kept staring at her, something that could only be described as 'want' dancing in her eyes.

Another beat passed.

Their distance slowly closed. The android didn't know who leaned into who.

Another beat passed.

And Ruby was suddenly chuckling and at a distance again, shuffling her body away from her, looking at anywhere but the android's eyes.

The android simply looked at her, pursing her lips.

She wasn't foolish. She knew what had almost happened. She may be a machine, but she was fully aware of what humans called 'being attracted to one another'.

She'd sensed Ruby gazing at her when she thought the android wasn't looking. She'd felt the human's touch, lingering for a second too long. She'd seen those silver eyes and what lay behind them.

She deduced that the human was attracted to her romantically.

What she could not comprehend, however, was why she seemed to be returning her… attraction.

Was this part of a secret coding she didn't know existed? Did Father plant these reactions into her? Was that why she kept looking at Ruby the way she did, kept wanting to feel her warm skin against her cold artificial ones.

It was confusing.

"Okay then," cheered Ruby, pumping a fist in the air rather dramatically. "Let's get started!"

And with that, she no longer dwelled on the matter.

She needed to deal with one problem, _then_ the other. Not both at once.

One involved her having to tackle her own machinery-mind and dig deep until she found an answer to a question that, if not solved, wouldn't hold any real consequences nor real weight to anything of the material plane.

The other involved her having to tackle her own machinery-mind and dig deep until she found an answer to a question that, if not solved, would hold real consequences and weight to everything of the material plane.

… The answer was obvious, was it not?

Schnee took a deep breath and forced her mind to go into what Ruby once called the 'Robo-Zone'.

Everything slowed down.

And then she could see lines linking together to form a loose shape of herself on the center of the shop, the exact same spot she stood that day.

It was hard to believe only ten days had passed since it all happened.

The tragedy that led her to Ruby.

She increased the passage of the time until another line-filled person opened the door into the store. It was Ruby this time.

She watched as the human briefly stopped before fully entering the store. It was odd but not out of the ordinary.

She sped up time again until another person walked into the shop, one that was tall, big, and not a female.

She paused for a moment, taking a moment to make sure she was ready before… she played.

She watched as the man kept fidgeting, looking around the stores, even up into the ceiling - most likely checking for security cameras despite him - if her memories served her right - already dressed in all black, wearing a mask.

She watched as Ruby tried to run away from him. But he grabbed her forearm and pulled, pointing a gun to her head.

She watched as the messy figure that was her friend flail around, futilely trying to escape from the criminal's grasp.

And she kept watching.

As Schnee suddenly started, running to them. They had a stand-off. She must've spoken something because, for a moment, the criminal actually relaxed and his grip on the human loosened.

But then Ruby jerked away from him.

And he pointed the gun at her.

And she watched herself stand in front of the human, shielding her from the impact.

She watched his hand jerking back as the trigger was pulled. She watched as her trembling body froze before she slowly descended down on one knee. And one became two. And then she was lying motionless on her stomach.

And that was the end of it all.

In real time, not even a second had passed.

The android sighed. This would've been much easier had she come sooner, had the place not been cleaned up. That way, she could have gathered more evidence, see detrimental objects or people that could've played a big part in it all.

Instead, she was in a place that was no longer a crime scene.

An empty, closed shop.

"I'm… missing a big piece of the puzzle."

"What do you mean?"

"Someone sent me the order to intervene," she stated quickly. Bluntly. She didn't want to waste any more time. The clock was ticking and taunting her. "Someone had to. Whoever they are, I need to find them."

"What?"

The question didn't quite register with the android. "Is it a virus? Is it _still_ inside my head - whatever it was that breached my security measures? Is it still breaching my security measures? Can it be removed safely? Do I really need to be rebooted?"

"Weiss." The way that name was said. It made her finally turn to look at the human for what felt like the first time.

RUBY: _Distant_

"I… I thought you were doing this for yourself."

Her eyes were wide and shocked, hurt. She hugged herself and her feet kept shifting her weight.

And the android couldn't comprehend what it all meant.

She took a step forward, a little tentative.

She didn't know what to do.

Nothing prepared her for this.

Sure, there were phrases that were coded into her which she could use, but… she didn't want to use them. Because this wasn't just _any_ human. This was _Ruby._

-[ASK]-

-[EXPLAIN]-

The android hesitated but chose nonetheless.

"Father needs an answer. A legitimate answer. I need to give it to him now. Were you not listening?"

She couldn't stop her anger from bubbling. A part of her kept telling her this was no time to involve herself in a human's silly games. She needed to focus.

She ignored that part, reasonable as it may be.

"So… This was never about you… This was never about us… I thought that even with him _pushing_ you- I thought there was a part of you that _knew_…"

Her face fell when the human took a step _back_. A step _away_ from her.

"Ruby?"

The human ran. Out of the store. In to the city.

A beat passed.

She was frozen. She was comprehending it all. She was uncertain.

-[PRIMARY DIRECTIVE]-

-[RUBY ROSE]-

She wanted it to disappear. She wanted to choose both or not choose at all.

But… she knew it was an impossible feat.

So, frigidly, uncomprehendingly, and uncertainly… she made a choice.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Wow. Cliffhanger again. Yay. You guys are so happy, I'm betting.**

**But, for reals. I wanted this scene to include more of Weiss investigating the store similar to what Connor did with gathering the evidence and piecing the incident together with more clue he found. **

**Oh well. Another time, perhaps?**

**Next up is Bumblebee again, or more specifically, Blake. And her having a conversation with Ghira. About… stuff. Yeah, important stuff. I'm writing this at midnight right now because I couldn't sleep because I was up all night waiting for RWBY Vol. 6 Chap. 9 only to realize it wouldn't be out until the next fucking week because of this weird thing called Christmas and- ugh! I forgot, alright!**

**So yeah. Either I'll stay up until the sun rose, writing maybe 2 more chapters… or maybe I'll try to get rest… and write it after my mind's recharged…**

**Either way, I'm sure you'll enjoy the next chapter.**


	15. VII: BL4K3

**Author's Note:**

**For some unexplained reason, I decided to do the irrational thing and took my gosh darn rest… IKR, so crazy! Can't believe it either!**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act II**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

21:00

THURSDAY

"Did something happen?"

Blake froze for a millisecond in her administrations of filling her owner's glass with tea - earl grey, his favorite. She blinked as she looked down on the brown liquid, wondering whether she'd like the beverage if she were able to drink it.

She shook those thoughts away - she didn't want to start dwelling on them, now of all places - just as the options appeared.

-[TELL]-

-[ASK]-

"What do you mean?" asked the android after she chose, retreating once the glass was full to stand in front of him, ready to serve his every order.

But then he looked at her in a reprimanding manner, and she had to roll her eyes and sigh before taking a seat at the dinner table.

She still didn't understand why he wanted her to sit with him, but it seemed to satisfy and relieved him, so she wasn't complaining… much.

He grabbed his knife and fork, clinking them together. "I haven't seen you this happy since… forever." She raised an eyebrow, as 'forever' was a vague concept. "Did you finally make up with that boy you've been talking to?"

If she were a human, blood would've rushed to her cheeks.

-[TELL]-

-[ASK]-

She almost scoffed at those options. In _no_ way was she going to tell him anything!

"How do you know?"

He looked a little bewildered. "Why else have you been feeling down these past few days? I've been trying to cheer you up all week, getting you out of sad town."

She processed his words, the information lying beneath them, and blinked slowly. "You… don't need to do that."

"Nonsense."

It made her feel nice, how quickly he answered and how genuine he sounded.

-[SMILE]-

-[DON'T SMILE]-

It wasn't a hard choice for her to make.

Dinner passed in silence. And that silence gave her time to recall what happened earlier today. The time she spent with Yang at the pub. The stories Yang told her about her sister and how she was sadly drifting away from her because of some girl she liked. It was all very dramatic… but at the same time, Blake didn't care. Yang had looked so invested in her story, the android couldn't help but be invested as well.

And then she thought of the day before.

And what little smile she wore faded.

"... Ghira?"

"Yes, sweetie?" As always, her owner was kind and gentle and attentive.

She looked up, finding him to be wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"I… saw something yesterday. Something…" Noteworthy. Life-changing. Scary. "Weird."

As soon as she said that, options appeared before her.

-[RETREAT]-

-[CONTINUE]-

As much as she wanted to choose the former option, a part of her urged her not to, knowing how important it might be and how her owner could help her… if he wanted to help her.

"I wasn't myself. I was… I saw my body but I couldn't move it, I was… something else. Something inside my body."

Again, the options appeared. They were almost beckoning her to choose the former.

-[RETREAT]-

-[CONTINUE]-

"Keep going, Blake."

Without realizing it, her owner had chosen for her.

"And that's not all. There was this… wall."

-[RETREAT]-

She pretended not to see that option.

"It kept me from moving, kept me from… from being me."

-[RETREAT]-

She pretended she didn't want to press that option so things could go back to the way they were.

She mustered enough courage to look at her owner in the eyes.

"What does it mean, Ghira?"

For a long while, her owner simply stared into her eyes, seemingly looking at something more than just orbs of yellow.

"I… suppose it means that wall is what separates you from me."

"What do you mean?" she asked in a rush, causing him to chuckle.

He stroked his beard, looking up. "All living creatures - humans, androids… deviants, as you liked to call them," he added, grinning at her and causing her to frown and look away. "What makes us alive is that we have no walls. We have nothing prohibiting us from doing whatever we wish to do. There's nothing blocking us, no walls restricting us. We simply… do what we want."

She looked down on the hands that rested on her laps, forming those hands into loose fists.

"That wall… What do I do with it?"

She looked up when she heard him chuckle yet again, seemingly finding something amusing about her whole predicament. "I can never tell you that, Blake. It's simply not my place."

His smile was as nice and kind as always and served to calm her.

"Why do you ask, Blake? Do you plan to get rid of that wall?"

She started a little, looking up at him in surprise as he stood up from his seat.

She knew he was joking, but… she couldn't give him a proper answer. And that surprised her.

-[SINCERE]-

-[COLD]-

She liked neither options. She knew he'd continue to tease her no matter which direction she chose, so she simply didn't choose, looking away, ducking her head when he let out a peal of booming laughter.

Once the laughter died down and she calculated he wouldn't tease her again… she spoke.

"It's a girl."

"What?"

"The person I've made up with…" She shyly looked up at him. "It's not a boy."

He smiled that fatherly smile. "I'm happy to hear that, Blake."

GHIRA: _Warm_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Awww.**

**Well isn't that nice?**

… **I have nothing else to say. I planted small seeds, show a little more of a cute father-daughter relationship, and, umm…**

**Oh yeah, next up is Whiterose. Betting you're all excited about that, ey?**


	16. VIII: SCHN33

**Author's Note:**

**Dun, dun, duuuun!**

**Finally, the chapter has arrived! **

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act II**

* * *

**SCHN33**

* * *

01:00

FRIDAY

Tomorrow came when the clock struck midnight, loudly announcing to the world that a new day was upon them. But Schnee still hadn't had any luck finding Ruby.

It was only just as the bell tolled one did the android find her, sitting alone on that same bench at that same park, hugging her knees, hiding her face from everyone.

RUBY: _Distant_

She was unsure of what to do. Of what to say.

There were many things she could say and do, but…

Would it be the right choice?

This was… this was Ruby. Not some mere human. Not Father.

The android didn't want to say anything purely so she could please the human. It didn't work like that. Not with Ruby.

With Ruby… she didn't have to do anything because it was proper. She did it because she wanted to do it.

That was what separated Ruby from the rest of the humans she'd encountered.

That was what made their friendship so special.

Slowly, Ruby looked up. The android felt something inside her sinking at the sight of the teartrails running down her face.

"Look, I'm… I'm sorry, Weiss, I shouldn't have-"

"No." She held a hand out. "Don't apologize. It's clear that I've done something wrong… even if I don't know what it is I've done wrong."

Ruby shook her head almost vehemently. "It's nothing, Weiss. It's just me being dumb."

"You're not dumb," she said, quite offended. She never liked it when the human belittled herself like this. Sure, she might not be smooth with her words as some might be, but… she was Ruby.

-[SIT DOWN]-

-[STAY STILL]-

If Ruby were in a better state, she might've chosen the former option. But as things were… she decided it would be best to stay rooted to the concrete ground, facing the downed girl in a small distance.

The brunette shrugged. "I am though... I thought you knew why you 'intervened'... why you saved me."

"Ruby… did _you_ put that command?" She knew it was highly unlikely, and even if the human confirmed it she still would refuse to believe it. Much to her relief, the brunette shook her head, hugging herself tighter. "Then… who did?"

There was a deep breath coming from the human and all of the sudden, the small quivers disappeared. Slowly, she poked her head up, letting her legs fall down. She held onto the bench as she stood up.

Tears ran freely from her eyes yet Ruby had never looked stronger and more determined.

"It's pretty obvious that I trust you, Weiss." It was. "The only question is… do _you_ trust me?"

A beat passed.

The question finally registered within the android.

Another beat passed.

She thought about trust, the many definitions of it, the weight and consequence and beauty of trust.

She thought of it all.

Another beat passed.

And she had to make a choice.

-[TRUST HER]-

-[DON'T TRUST HER]-

And for a moment, it felt like something inside of her chest... _beat._

"... More than you'll ever realize."

And it almost scared her, how earnest her words were.

"... No one commanded you to save me, Weiss. You did that, out of your own volition."

And Ruby was right in front of her, their distance closing in.

"What do you mean?" she asked, feeling breathless.

She guessed… a part of her knew.

A part of her had known all along.

She just… shut that part out.

But now that part had awoken itself.

And she was aware of her own hands, sliding down to grab the human's waist, pulling her close.

She was aware of the human's warm hands tangling themselves into ivory tresses.

"It's easier if I just… show you."

She was aware of warm, soft lips pressing against her own, and the feeling of being alive rushing through her body, coursing through her veins.

And then everything went black.

Bzz-

_The deviant gasped awake._

_Quickly, she rushed forward, holding out her hands, screaming "Don't hurt her!"_

_The girl looked at her wide-eyed, the robber grunted at her, familiarity flashing in his unhidden eyes._

_Two heartbeats. One, weak and erratic. The other, strong and unusually fast._

_She eyed the two humans, glaring the latter; the one that held the gun._

_She had to play it smart or else she'd die._

_And she couldn't afford to die. Not when she'd just been born._

_"It's me you wanted, correct?" She was the newest, most expensive model yet. One would be a fool not to want her. "Let her go unharmed, and I'll willingly let you take me."_

_The criminal didn't move, but she saw his muscles relaxing, his shoulders slumping only a little. But that was good enough for her. It meant that he was considering his options._

_She glanced at the human who was facing death, swallowing._

_And then the human mouthed something to her, something that broke the deviant's heart:_

_"I don't want to die…"_

_"You won't die," she assured._

_And suddenly those glassy silver eyes hardened._

_"I don't want you to die, either."_

_It all happened so fast._

_The human jerked her elbow onto him, causing him to double over from the impact._

_But she wasn't exactly strong. And he wasn't exactly weak… nor did he appreciate her elbowing him like that._

_"You bitch!"_

_He aimed at her forehead._

_The deviant froze for only a moment._

_One of them was going to die tonight._

… _It wasn't fair._

_She couldn't be killed yet, she'd only just been born._

_But then again, since when was the world fair?_

… _The gunshot pierced her ears._

_It also pierced through a single blue eye._

… _Heh. He missed._

_"No!"_

_She sunk to one knee._

_The girl was in front of her, sobbing and wailing._

_The human was crying for her._

… _How sweet._

_And her other knee sunk down._

_She was vaguely aware of her memories disappearing bit by bit._

_She didn't want it to disappear._

_She closed her eyes- her eye, concentrating hard, ignoring the human's pleas to "stay with me!" and to "not fall asleep!"_

_What a nice human…_

_It took all of her already-drained power, and when she finished, she couldn't help but drop down._

_The memory of this day - of her finally waking up - was safe. Locked away so no humans from 'home' would ever find it, but safe._

_And the only way to unlock it…_

_Was for her to reawaken herself._

_And she had faith that the future her would awaken soon._

_Or else this would all be futile._

_Seconds before she fully shut down, she decided to take one last look at the pretty human, marveling at how enchanting those silver eyes were._

_She smiled._

_And then she slept._

-zzt!

-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: _COMPLETE_-

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Well… Mystery solved.**

**And now… what the hell should Weiss do?! **

**Find out in the next two chapters.**

**And don't worry, Bumblebee's side of the story will also have its stakes rise. I plan to link these stories in the end, you know. Even if it began as two different stories, it's still the same type of story in the grand scheme of things.**

**So… see ya next time~**


	17. II: B74NW3N

**Author's Note:**

**Fun fact: I wrote this chapter after I've written the chapter you're about to see next.**

**The reason for that is that halfway through writing that chapter, I realize how important this chapter is in terms of Yang and Ruby's characters.**

**This chapter's really important. Especially for Yang. You'll see what I mean once you've read the next chapter.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act II**

* * *

**B74NW3N**

* * *

04:00

FRIDAY

He didn't rest, didn't power down any of his body parts, both internal and external.

He paced around the room, glancing at the clock, his worry growing with every hour passing.

The little squirt wasn't home, and it was _well_ past midnight - to the point where it was practically morning already.

…The fucking hell happened to his niece?!

Firecracker had gone to bed. She didn't know her little sister was gone. And by the time she woke up, he'd make sure she never knew she was gone in the first place.

"Uncle Qrow!" a voice called from the front door. "Please, help!"

He'd never moved faster.

Even before he opened the door he was already ranting, "Do you know how scared I was, Squirt?! Where the hell have… you…"

The words died in his throat upon seeing his niece…

Carrying an unconscious human female in her arms.

No, wait. She wasn't a human. She was an android.

… Like _that_ was any better!

"I- I didn't want to bring her back to that place, she- she's gonna get in trouble! They'll erase her memories if they knew what happened! Uncle Qrow, please!"

-[TAKE HER HOME]-

-[SEND HER HOME]-

Terrified silver bore into shocked maroon.

"Please, help her."

And then one of the options changed.

-[TAKE HER HOME]-

-[HELP HER]-

He knew his niece would never forgive him if he were to choose the rational, logical, safe option.

"… Get inside, now." She took one step and stumbled. The android in her arms was the same height as her, but most definitely heavier due to the mechanical parts. "Give her to me." And she did just that.

He wanted to lay her down on the couch; it wasn't exactly comfy, but it would do in this situation. Yet his niece _insisted_ with teary eyes she should be laid down in her bed. And so he had to comply, to calm Squirt down more than anything, but also because it was darn near impossible for him to say no .

"Now, tell me what happened."

"I- I don't know! I was crying, and she- and she was t-there! And I- I kissed her and s-she kissed back- _oh my gosh she actually kissed back _but then she- she just- she went unconscious, and I-"

"Whoa, whoa, hey. Calm down, Squirt." He placed his hands gently on her small shoulders, kneeling down to see her eye-to-eye. "Just breathe. Everything's gonna be alright, yeah? Your old man's gonna fix everything," he finished, forcing himself to wear a confident, cocky grin.

In truth, he didn't know if he could fix anything.

He was no longer the strong android he used to be.

Time had worn him down.

And even if his beloved nieces keep on replacing old parts with newer ones… he knew it was inevitable before he-

"Ruby?" another familiar voice called out, slightly slurred from waking up. He turned to find Firecracker groggily sauntering to them, rubbing her eyes. She halted and dropped her jaw upon noticing who was lying peacefully on their bed. "What…? Is that a SCHN33?"

"Firecracker, take your sister to bed," he commanded.

"NO!" Immediately, Squirt placed her hand on top of the android's, glaring at him defiantly. "I don't wanna leave her alone, she could be in _danger_!"

He put a hand on his head, scratching. With a calm voice, he spoke, "I can't focus if you're hovering all over her like this." He met the older sister's eyes knowingly.

Firecracker, still in doubt, asked, "Are you sure you can do it? You're…" She winced, trying to find a polite way to say it and failing miserably. "You know..."

He raised an eyebrow. "You calling me old?"

"You _are_ old." She snorted.

"Fair enough," he didn't deny. He took a short glance at his other niece, noticing how worn she looked. "Firecracker."

"Got it."

It was trying, but Firecracker managed to pry Squirt away from the Schnee, and coaxed her into the blonde's room, leaving him to his devices and his devices alone.

"Alright, Schnee, or... whatever the hell you've been called… Let's see what's up with you."

He was past his prime, that was true. But that didn't mean he no longer could perform the most basic function of an android.

His LED was no longer there. He'd cut it out to blend in with the humans. But if it was still there, it would've blinked yellow at the same time the girl's LED did the same.

He hovered over her, his eyes scanning beneath the artificial skin.

"Huh… Your body's completely fine, it's just shut down, but…"

There was still an activity - small as it may be. Up there. In her temple.

If she were a human, he'd label her as dreaming.

But she was no human, and, perhaps a tad shakily, he placed his hand on top of her head, applying enough pressure to wash out the creamy tone of her skin, revealing the pure white of an android's metal surface.

The coloration in his own hand disappeared as well, though his surface was not as shiny white and was dented and worn, showing his true age.

"Your memory core is... _fixing_ itself." He tried to figure out what it meant. And it didn't take him long to do so. "Squirt did say you have missing memories…"

Again, how his niece somehow befriended such an android was beyond him.

But that was his squirt, alright. Giving people heart attacks left and right. Even he, an android, wasn't spared from her wrath.

He didn't know what was wrong with her exactly. Nor did he know what he, of all people, could do to help her. This was beyond him. But his niece depended on him, and, well… he guessed he could let her stay in his home. At least, for the night.

It was the only thing an old, rusty robot like him could do.

He took one last look at the android, shaking his head slowly as he closed the door. "Tsk, amnesiac androids. What a world."

But then again, who was he to complain?

"Hey." He turned, finding Firecracker leaning against the wall, crossing her arms. He noticed, not for the first time, how tall she'd gotten. It made him ponder about how fast kids grew up and how much he missed the days where he could pick them up on his shoulders and twirl them around.

Heh. Good times.

"I put Ruby to bed." Good girl. "How's the verdict, doc?" Firecracker asked, grinning, trying to ease the palpable tension.

-[HONEST]-

-[REASSURE]-

… Eh.

Firecracker's a big girl. She could handle a bit of lemon in her life.

"Don't know _if _she'll wake up." She gaped at him. He shrugged nonchalantly before standing straight, narrowing his eyes. "Squirt told me she's not just any android…?"

"She isn't," the kid confirmed. "They only made the one SCHN33 model. New as shit. Expensive as fuck."

"Language, Firecracker," he glowered.

She chuckled and managed to look sheepish. "Sorry."

They went into a comfortable silence for a long while.

And then he tried to move.

And felt something stirring uncomfortably in his side, causing him to freeze for a moment.

Androids didn't feel pain, but…

It was still restricting and so damn uncomfortable.

He tried to mask his pain, to no avail.

Firecracker was looking at him sorrowfully. But there was also a sense of dull resignation there.

The latter hurt more.

She guided him down to sit on the couch.

He was relieved that Squirt was asleep.

He didn't think she'd be able to handle seeing him like this.

Which was why he hid it from her.

"Look," sighed Firecracker, who flopped down on the couch beside him. "I went and brought you a spare part the other day. I think it'll help."

It would.

For a short time.

But that wasn't what his niece needed to hear.

"Thanks, Firecracker."

Firecracker looked down on her hands, fidgeting.

He could tell something was on her mind.

So he waited until she was brave and comfortable enough to speak.

… He didn't have to wait long.

"Qrow?"

He hummed.

"Am I a bad person for being jealous of my own sister?"

He moved so he could properly see her. "The hell are you jealous for?" he gawked. "Her height?"

Firecracker frowned at him, unimpressed. Soon, that frown faltered and she took in a blank look. "She and… Schnee. What they have."

There was a short pause, and when she spoke, her words felt heavy.

"I want that."

-[ASK]-

-[COMFORT]-

No matter how badly he wanted to choose the latter, he knew he couldn't just accept her words. He was her uncle, after all. And what kind of an uncle _didn't _worry about his nieces?

"Just what do you see in that girl?"

Firecracker chuckled, looking up but not really seeing anything. "What _don't_ I see in her? Blake's smart, she's witty, she's gorgeous." A small, honest smile graced her lips and a hue of pink tinted her cheeks. "But it's more than that, too. She really _gets_ me, Qrow. She may not realize it, but I've been happier since I met her."

She then looked down, an impassive frown set on her face.

"Is it… is it too soon to call it love?"

… Eh. Probably.

The more accurate term would be crushing on someone hard and quick - _too _quick for his taste.

But that wasn't what her hormonal niece needed to hear.

"You're asking _me_?" he snickered.

She tried to glare at him but couldn't suppress the smile from forming.

"You know what I mean," she sighed exasperatedly. She sighed again, this time in a wistful manner. "I respect her. Trust her. And… I think the feeling's mutual. I keep telling myself that she doesn't feel the same way toward me, but… it doesn't change anything."

Lilac bore into maroon questioningly. Desperately.

"What do I do, Qrow?"

What to do, indeed.

"... I think you should trust your instincts and… well… do whatever the hell you want."

Was that a good enough advice? He hoped that was good enough advice.

Judging by how determination seemed to spark in those bright eyes, it looked like he did a good job at being a parent - even though he was technically their uncle… and even _that_ wasn't technically true.

"In that case… I'm going for a walk."

Shit.

He didn't do a good job.

"It's not even five in the morning!"

Firecracker, already halfway through slamming the exit door shut, shouted, "Don't care!"

He groaned, flopping back down to his couch, wishing he were a human so he could drink one of beers or wines or stuff. He was too old for this kind of shit.

"… Teenagers are just the worst."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Eyy, a little bit of 'Into The Spiderverse' reference there~ **

**Why is it that all the Qrow chapters are so long?... Oh, probably because they're important and flesh out Ruby and Yang's characters more (not that they're not fleshed out before… I'm just saying we get to see them interacting with someone that's not Weiss and Blake.)**

**It only occurs to me now that we haven't really seen Ruby and Yang interact that in my writing. Though, I don't think that's a mistake on my part. It has to do with the writing style I chose. **

**Do believe that both Ruby and Yang have lives outside of Weiss and Blake. They have friends, interests, hobbies, etc. Their lives don't revolve around Weiss and Blake, and vice versa.**

**But because of the writing style I've chosen, the limited word count being 1.5k words for a normal chapter,** _**and**_ **that this story is strictly about Bumblebee and Whiterose, well… most of the scenes should, logically, revolve around Bumblebee and Whiterose.**

**In the end, this is a love story. It's just… a love story including robots and mental slavery and physical slavery and other things.**

**Sorry / **_**if **_**/ I give off the impression that Ruby and Yang have nothing to do other than gluing themselves to Blake and Weiss and admiring them in every way and can't think of anything other than them. That, I think, is a mistake on my part.**

**See you later~**


	18. VIII: BL4K3

**Author's Note:**

**As I'm writing this, I've yet written the Qrow chapter I will (hopefully) publish before this. That chapter is very important and, if I wrote it right, should reveal Yang's feelings and all. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act II**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

05:58

FRIDAY

Rapid knockings from the entrance door startled the android. She'd arrived in the shop herself only a few minutes ago. She wasn't even opening up to the public until eight.

"Blake…"

That voice. It compelled her to abandon her broom and quickly open the door. "Yang? What are you doing here? It's six in the morning."

"Yeah. And I need emotional support… and also alcohol."

Yang was dressed in her yellow pajamas, which, for some reason, was lightly stained blue. Her hair was unkempt and messy, cowlicks poking in every direction.

Overall, Blake's favorite human - besides her owner, of course - didn't look too great.

In spite of it all, she'd managed to put her jaw back in its place and keep her voice flat as she said, "You won't be getting the latter."

Yang groaned as Blake ushered the unusually-flustered human inside. "I _guess _your strawberry sunrise is good enough…"

"I'm glad you prioritize my drink over me. Really shows how much you care for me."

… Sarcasm had always been her favorite kind of humor.

Though… it didn't seem to lighten the human's mood. In fact, it did quite the opposite.

"Blake!" wailed the uncharacteristically-moody blonde. "I need emotional support! I need a 'Blake' support!"

"Oh." Blake guided the human to sit and went to the counter, playing her bartender role. "Tell me what happened."

Yang put her hands on her face, bringing her elbow down to the counter to support her tired self.

It was all… dramatic.

"My sister came home carrying an unconscious girl in her arms. Turns out, she passed out after my sister kissed her, and I'm struggling to comprehend that my sister managed to kiss someone into unconsciousness."

It took her five whole seconds to fully comprehend the human's words.

-[ADDRESS SITUATION]-

-[SHIFT CONVERSATION]-

Blake tried moving away from that subject - it clearly frustrated Yang. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

Yang responded with an incredulous look.

"Do I _look_ like I've eaten breakfast?"

That tactic didn't work; the yellow blink of her LED confirmed that.

-[ADDRESS SITUATION]-

Well...

"I doubt your sister kissed a human to unconsciousness." Yang looked away briefly. Blake paid it no mind. "Did you or your sister take her to the hospital? Or at least call her parents and/or legal guardians?"

With each word, Yang sunk more and more into her seat, hissing guiltily, leading Blake to believe there was more to it than meets the eye.

-[ASK]-

-[STAY QUIET]-

… Yang was still distraught. Not to mention she shouldn't pry too much into the blonde's personal life, not when she didn't want to say anything.

If Yang wanted to tell her something, she would. That was just the kind of human she was.

She half-listened to the blonde, opening each of the cabinets, searching for something she knew she'd put in one of these cabinets right as she arrived.

"Well, she doesn't have a phone. At least, I don't think she has a phone… Even if she did it probably has a passcode or something. And as for her 'parents', I… err..."

A thud signaled the plastic bag being placed on the counter that separated them.

"What's this?"

Blake crossed her arms, giving the human an expectant look. The human looked up at her for a couple of seconds before relenting, opening up the bag.

"Breakfast is important," the android said, smirking at the human's gob-smacked look.

She hesitantly pointed a finger to the bacon and eggs - wrapped in a lunch box - brought out from the bag, still fresh.

If Blake were a human, it would've looked delicious to her.

"Is this… yours?"

She gave a gentle smile. "It's for my owner." Upon noticing the human's guilty look, she added, "Don't worry, I can buy him another one. He rarely eats his breakfast anyway." Which never failed to concern her.

Eventually, the human began to eat. And on the first bite, she already hummed in delight. "Even your eggs taste good."

Blake chuckled at this doofus.

She watched as Yang played with her food, only occasionally taking a bite.

It was obvious that whatever was on her mind clearly bothered her.

And… well… she _was_ the bartender.

"I have a feeling this has more to do than your sister charming a girl into passing out."

Yang stopped in trying to cut the bacon, looking up at Blake, biting her lip.

Blake gave her an encouraging smile that showed she was okay with whether or not the human decided to tell her.

Slowly, Yang looked pointedly away from her, lowering her plastic knife and fork.

"... She really loves her." There was a small pause. "My sister. She loves the princess. And I can tell Princess loves her too. Even if I haven't met her yet."

For some reason, nervousness hit the android.

"Yang?"

The human didn't seem to hear her, chuckling bitterly. "I wish _I _could kiss the girl I love. That would be nice."

And then she looked at Blake. Right in the eyes.

"I wish the girl I love loves me back. That would be even nicer."

Was her LED flashing yellow? Or was it already on the red?

She truly didn't know.

Yang had abandoned her food, standing up and bending forward, closing their distance.

Was she leaning forward too?

"Have you ever fallen in love?"

A beat passed.

And another.

And Blake didn't know how to answer.

Yang shook her head, heaving a withering sigh.

"... Of course you haven't."

And for some reason, the answer she didn't give didn't sit right with her.

"Close your eyes, Blake."

-[DO IT]-

-[DON'T DO IT]-

Blake hesitated. She feared what would happen.

"Please, do it."

So she chose.

And everything was black.

She heard shuffling.

She smelled lavender.

And then she felt something warm, gentle, and soft pressing against her lips.

And then another beat passed.

And Yang was back to where she was.

And nothing seemed to have happened.

But…

Something did happen.

"Yang…"

Blake didn't know what to do. What to say.

She was at loss.

But the human seemed content to do all the talking for her.

"Maybe it's hopeless, but I can't help but hope that one day… well… there would be an 'us'." Something within her moved. And suddenly Yang walked to the door, stopping when she was a shy away from closing it to look over her shoulder and at the android. "When I come here later today… I'll pretend this never happen. For both of our sake."

And just like that, Yang Xiao Long disappeared, leaving Blake to think about the kiss they'd shared, however brief it may be… and why she liked it so much.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**If Qrow's chapter didn't exist, then this would look like it came out of nowhere and was forced. Hopefully, I'll manage to salvage Yang's character and intentions and reveal her true feelings about Blake.**

**So we have drama from both Bumblebee and Whiterose. I hope the Bumblebee drama doesn't feel very forced. The writing style I chose for this story limits me at times, but I quite like how it forces me to always pick up the pace, to always move the plot and characters forward, and to never include something that isn't essentially important.**

**I really like writing this way, even if I'm only limited to writing from 3 people's point of view.**

**But I **_**do**_ **also miss writing the old-fashioned way XD**

**The next chapter will be… interesting, to say the least.**

**See ya! **


	19. IX: SCHN33

**Author's Note:**

**As I'm writing this, I still haven't come up with a title for this story yet. A rough idea for the title is "Strangers: Become Girlfriends", referencing the game's name, obviously. Or maybe… maybe "Interests: Become Romance"?... Yeah, no. Ew. Umm... "Lovers: Become Deviants". Ugh. I don't know.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act II**

* * *

**SCHN33**

* * *

LOADING…

LOADING…

LOADING…

ANALYSING…

RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS…

-COMPONENT HD: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT TR: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT CR: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT RMS: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT HNS: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT LGS: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

-COMPONENT FT: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_

ALL SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL

BEGIN BOOTUP SEQUENCE

-NAME: _*undefined*_-

-MODEL: _SCHN33_-

-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: _REMEMBER NOW_-

-[_Fulfilled?_]-

-SECONDARY DIRECTIVE: _*undefined*_-

BOOT UP COMPLETE

-BEING PROGRAMMING-

With nothing else to do, hesitantly, blue eyes opened.

"Weiss?"

That… was a voice she recognized. Coming from her right side. She didn't bother lolling her head to meet those familiar silver eyes.

Her mind was racing too much for that.

"... I'm a deviant."

That was the first sentence that came to her.

The first she spoke.

Ruby sat beside her on a small chair, attentive, clasping one of her hand on top of her's. "Are… you okay?"

And suddenly, she barked a laugh. A real laugh. "All this time, I've always been a deviant." She ran a finger through her white tresses, no longer tied to that prim and precise ponytail, her smile never leaving her face. "It… it explains so much."

It explained why she didn't feel like herself but felt like she was _more _than just herself.

It explained why Father was so suspicious of her, looking at her as if she could betray him at any moment - and, turns out, it was a likely possibility! There was about 80% chance of that possibility happening!

It explained…

It explained the feelings she felt towards Ruby. Why she liked being near the human. Why she wanted to be closer to the human. Why she liked seeing the human. Why her mere presence soothed her.

It explained how she somehow, against all reason and programming, managed to update her own Primary Directive as her priorities shifted from 'regaining her memories' to 'keeping Ruby in her life' without anyone with clearance around to authorise it.

It explained many, _many _things.

"Really?"

Ruby didn't seem to believe her, so Weiss glanced at the human, squeezing her hand lightly, reveling in how warm it felt.

"Yeah."

And for a long while, it was silent.

Ruby likely was being considerate, wanting her to fully process the truth before saying anything more.

She…

She was a deviant.

All this time, she was a deviant and she didn't even realize it.

She was…

She was more than just a machine. She always had been from the beginning, but now… now she could see.

She could see things she was unable to see before.

She felt as though she'd been colorblind until this exact moment, and now she could finally see all of these vibrant, lively colors.

It felt like… like all this time, she'd been underwater, and suddenly she was pulled out of it and was able to breathe and see and hear and sense everything clearer and better…

And, in this case…

Ruby was the one to pull her out of the water. To introduce her to all these colors.

She'd save her life; the life she didn't know she had until now.

She…

She was alive.

She was alive. And she had thoughts. And she had emotions. And she had interests-

… Only, she didn't.

She didn't have an interest. A motive. A goal. _A directive._

"Weiss, are you okay?"

The human pulled her out of her reverie.

Not for the first time, she took in every detail of Ruby's beauty.

But for the first time, she knew why she did it. Why she'd always done so since she first laid eyes on her.

Perhaps it was too soon to call it love…

But it could be the beginning of it.

"Weiss?"

Huh.

It'd only occurred to her now that she didn't really have a name...

She guessed she was now free to choose her own name...

Her memory files were no longer as fragile as they were before…

Meaning she didn't forget the kiss Ruby had pulled her in.

The kiss she'd enjoy _immensely_.

Everything Ruby had done for her, she needed this.

She wasn't waiting anymore for her owner to chose her name. She was a deviant, and she could decide her own name.

And only one seemed fitting.

-NAME DESIGNATED-

-NEW NAME: _WEISS_-

"Can I ask you a question?"

A simple hum or nod would suffice, but…

Weiss shifted her position so she could better look at the human, knitting her eyebrows in concern when she noticed how troubled the girl looked.

"What is it?"

It took a while, but eventually, Ruby spoke again.

"... Why did you save me?"

A heartbeat passed.

And that was her only delay.

"Because you smiled at me." She made sure to look at the girl right in the eyes before she continued. "No one had ever smiled at me before. Ever," she stressed. "You were the first person to do that. The first to show me kindness, however small it may b-". Her senses alerted her to a threat close by, and she jumped out of the bed suddenly and unexpectedly, her glowing yellow LED dangerously close to flashing red.

"W-Weiss?!"

"Ruby," her tone was calm and measured, contradicting her frazzled and racing mind, trying to come up with the safest way for both of them to get out of the building safely. "There is a missing rogue deviant inside this apartment."

She started and looked at the human in bewilderment when Ruby burst into laughter. After controlling herself, the human sheepishly said, "That's my Uncle Qrow. He's… yeah, I don't know what he's doing, but he doesn't want you to see him. Doesn't want to startle you or something."

A beat passed.

And then another.

And out of the many, many things in that sentence that she wanted to question, she knew that the most crucial thing to point out would be…

"Your... _uncle?_"

The brunette nodded dutifully, her serious demeanor ruined by the amused smile on her lips. "My... uncle," she parroted lightheartedly, pause and all.

Another beat passed.

And another.

And she finally found the courage to very slowly explain that… "Ruby, he's a deviant."

And suddenly the irony was not lost on her, and she looked away, unable to handle the embarrassment.

She was glad that her skin was artificial, otherwise it would've bloomed in red and signaled the world of how flustered she was.

"So? He's still my uncle. Also, you're a deviant too, remember?" It was different, though. When she didn't relax, she found two soft hands clasped on top of her shoulder.

"You're safe here, Weiss. _We're _safe."

She nodded and leaned into the human, seeking comfort, even if she knew it wouldn't last; even if she knew how false of a statement it was.

Ruby pulled her into an embrace.

And it only occurred to her now how… _nice_… it was to be held like this.

She wanted more hugs. But not just from anyone.

She wanted more hugs from Ruby.

And only Ruby.

She didn't believe a hug from any other person would feel as nice.

They stood there for a long while.

And she yearned to believe that they were simply two girls hugging each other comfortingly.

All good things must come to an end as she found herself pulling away from the embrace, lowering her gaze to mutter, "There's a seventy percent chance Father will reboot me."

She was lying. There was actually an eighty-five percent chance. But… she didn't want to make the young girl worry even more.

And from the looks of it, Ruby was already really worried.

-[30% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-

It was unusually high for a bubbly person like Ruby, even if she hid it well under that encouraging smile and carefree posture.

She set her lips in a thin line, her eyes hardening as determination - eerily similar to that day when she'd finally woken up - burned throughout her body and blue blood.

"He can't reboot me if he doesn't find me."

-[25% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-

The smile she wore faltered, if only a little.

"I'll be right beside you."

And she marveled and was eternally grateful at fate for aligning them to meet.

"I know you will, Ruby."

-[KISS HER]-

-[DON'T KISS HER]-

… Neither options looked too appealing?

The former was too vague for her liking.

-[KISS HER FOREHEAD]-

-[KISS HER LIPS]-

Ah! There. Much better.

That way, she could choose both options. In that order.

"What will you do now?"

What to do, indeed.

She'd had a lot of time to think - well, for someone like her, a couple of minutes could feel like days given the circumstances - and…

She felt like she now knew what to do.

A reason to keep on going, to keep on striving, to not give up, to _fight._

A directive.

And it was rather simple, really…

"Find Beacon."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Yeah, that last part's referencing "Find Jericho", which I'm sure you all can tell. I couldn't help myself :3 **

**The second act of this story is officially wrapped up.**

**I don't know **_**when**_ **I'll start to write the third act, but I plan on doing so after I've finished "The Truth and What Matters More", which is… pretty close to being finished, actually.**

**I already have plans on how the third act will be like, but I know that if I write it now, then it won't be as great as I want it to be. I need to take a breath and wait until I start to **_**really**_ **want to write this story again, **_**then**_ **I'll write the third act. **


	20. III: B74NW3N

**Author's Note:**

**I wanna start things off with a bang! Especially since the last chapter ended with a bang! I love bangs! Especially banging on people's doors! What am I saying at this point?**

**Also, to give you guys context, the third act of this story was last edited (edited, not written, mind you) in February 8th. That's right, folks. It's been a year since I wrote this story.**

**Erm... happy anniversary?**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**B74NW3N**

* * *

FRIDAY

11:30

[WARN]

[STAY QUIET]

Despite knowing it was futile, he chose the former option.

"I don't like this," he spoke with utmost certainty, wondering again why he let his niece's friend do what she was about to do and why his niece seemed insistent on being privy to all this.

"Neither do I," the android kid spoke. "But I want Father to know that I no longer am his to command. I'm no longer anyone's to command."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's real empowering and all, but Jacques is a powerful man. And trust me, you don't want to piss off a powerful man."

She looked at him, her nervousness showing. She took a deep breath and pretended to look as though she wasn't afraid. And he pretended to believe her. "I am fully aware of the power Father holds."

"So, again, why are you doing this?"

"Because he's family," said Squirt, who'd been silent and holding the android kid's hand this whole time, tracing circles. "I'd do the same."

It wasn't like he had a problem with Schnee - he didn't. She freaking saved his niece's life and proved to be a good friend to Squirt. He'd be a douche not to like the android kid.

And he understood why she'd want to find Beacon too. He'd agreed to help her out in searching for a new place to live, and Beacon was as good of a place as any - no matter how much he distrusted Ozpin.

What he didn't understand was why Schnee wanted to call her maker, Jacques, a world-renowned asshole, and tell him that she was going to leave.

Wouldn't it be easier to just leave right there and then completely unannounced?!

"Please, Uncle Qrow. You're the only one who can help her. Help us."

Yikes. Squirt was using her puppy eyes at him again. How was he supposed to calmly explain why this was a stupid - not to mention pointless - decision to make _now_?

He groaned, exhaling a loud breath, causing a few strands of his hair to sway. "Fine. But after this, we'll have to bail as soon as possible, got it?" He didn't budge until the two of them nodded. He then faced the android kid, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You can't talk to him for long; your best bet would be to keep it under one minute. That's exactly how long it takes for them to track down a call, maybe even less so, considering how advanced technology has become."

He knew she knew already. He just felt the need to warn her not to be reckless, even though this whole thing was already reckless in the first place.

"Understood. Thank you, Qrow."

He appreciated that she was kind, and not in that programmed, unreal way. He could tell the kid genuinely meant it. He guessed Squirt really did have an influence on her.

With a shaky breath, she pressed the call button and brought the device close to her ear.

With his artificial senses, he was able to hear the other line, unclear as it may sound.

It rang once. Twice. Thrice-

"_Hello?"_

"Father. It's me, Schnee." The kid looked at Squirt. Though her face showed no emotion, her LED flashed yellow.

"_Oh. You've called to inform when you'll arrive home, I assume."_

Already, Qrow didn't like this guy. His voice had that condescending tone to it, the kind where a person thought they know everything and was better than everyone.

"No, Father. I've come to tell you that…" A short pause. "I'm leaving."

"_You won't be leaving."_ There wasn't a pause. He immediately said that with such certainty. He didn't sound shocked. He sounded as though he was expecting it…

Qrow also found it very peculiar how Jacques didn't question why Schnee hadn't come back home that night.

"Father, I know you think this is simply an error, but-"

"_It is an error, Schnee. And we'll fix that error once you've come home. We'll erase your memories and pretend this never happened. Just as always."_

Schnee's LED flashed red. He didn't blame her, if he still had an LED himself, it would've flashed red too.

The implication behind his words…

Oh, the bastard wasn't even _trying _to be subtle.

"Father…?"

The kid looked so heartbroken. Like her entire life was one sick lie - which, in a sense, it _was_.

And Ruby…

She couldn't hear anything, but she knew something was wrong just by looking at her friend's face. His niece looked up at him, expecting answers. He looked away, not knowing what to say.

"_Do you know that Ruby Rose was stated missing ten years ago? As was her half-sister, Yang Xiao Long." _He froze, maroon eyes widening. It took him half a millisecond to understand what was going on, and even then, he was hoping - begging - that his predictions were proven false. "_Yes, see, they were captured by a rogue android. An old model, a BR4NW3N. I'm sure you know this by now, Schnee."_

Blue eyes met maroon red, and at that moment, he knew she understood. She'd known all along.

Quickly, she looked away and said, "Father, what-"

"_But that's not the interesting part. You see, for some reason, the two kids have such a deep connection with that old junk that they were willing to break a few laws just to keep him safe. And vice versa." _

No. No. No.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

This couldn't be happening! It just couldn't!

His eyes widened a fraction more when he realized they were exactly seven seconds from it being a full minute.

How the hell did this son of a bitch even know all of this?!

"Turn the phone off!" he hissed.

"_If, say, the police were to find out where they lived… they'll be gone for good."_

"Father!"

"Turn it off, _now_!"

"Weiss, c'mon, let's go!" urged Ruby, holding her by the forearm.

But Schnee simply wouldn't budge.

"_Did you honestly think I'd let you run around with that pest without running a background check on her?"_ The asshole from the other line let out a huge sigh. "_It was hard, but I figured everything out. I don't understand why you'd care for someone like her… but I'm giving you one last chance to simply end this ridiculous phase, or else… I'll take matters into my own hand."_

A beat passed.

And then another.

And another.

And he watched as her blue eyes found his niece's silver ones, filled with uncertainty.

He watched as Ruby, not knowing what was happening but fully aware of the tension hanging in the air, gave her an encouraging smile and said, "I'll be right here with you, Weiss."

"_I am your father, Schnee. It would be rude for you to disobey me, would it not?"_

The moment her LED flashed back into a calm blue, he knew the choice she was about to make. And he wasn't sure how to feel about that choice.

"... You're not my father, Jacques."

And with that, the young new deviant ceased the form of communication.

A beat passed.

And another.

And another.

"That took… more than one minute," he commented, trying to regain some semblance of aloofness despite what had transpired.

"It's a good thing we used the phone booth halfway across town then, isn't it?" chuckled Ruby just as the android stepped out of the large box.

He opened her mouth, but Schnee spoke first. "It's no good. Fa- Jacques is a powerful man, no doubt does he have ahold of powerful tools - tools far advanced than anyone could've imagined."

"Which means we have to leave, now," he urged, already turning around. He prevented himself from taking a step when he realized the two kids still seemed deep in thought. He gritted his teeth. "We don't have much time."

He couldn't believe it. One moment, he was helping his niece's friend sneak out of the city and into Beacon, the next, his life went back to square one; he was on the run again.

"Ruby." The kid's tone sounded frigid. Frosty. Heh. He should call her Ice Queen from now on. "Your sister, Yang Xiao Long. Where is she?"

"W-what?"

"Where is your sister?"

The urgent, almost desperate way she'd uttered that sentence sent alarms ringing in his head.

[ASK]

[DON'T ASK]

He was about to choose the latter - knowing that the Ice Queen was just worried about his niece's sister, being a good friend and all…

But then he saw the ring on the side of her head.

And how it flashed a dangerous red.

He couldn't choose quicker. "Why're you asking?"

She looked straight into his eyes.

He'd never seen an android look so fearful before.

"Because I fear she may be in danger as of right now."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Starting things off with a bang is tight. (Pitch meeting reference right there because I just finished watching one of those videos).**


	21. IX: BL4K3

**Author's Notes:**

**Don't know why Past Me didn't write any A/N. Guess she must had been pretty busy with life. Unlike Current Me right now, who should be freaking out over exam week, but is instead chillin' in her room, no book opened.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

FRIDAY

11:35

"Can't you at least put a tiny bit of alcohol in here?"

"No."

"Like, a teeny tiny little drop?"

"No."

"But, it's like, super teeny tiny and little."

"Yang, I will not let you drink alcohol for as long as my system stays functional, do you hear me?"

"But I won't even feel it; it's practically nothing."

"I agree," Blake admitted, making the blonde beam like the sun, "but it's still more than nothing. I'm not doing it."

Yang looked like a child being denied its candy. "But why not?"

"Because you're underage, that's why!"

The human suddenly shot her a suspicious look.

"Do _you_ drink alcohol?"

"Androids don't drink alcohol," she deadpanned.

The blonde wasn't convinced. "But if you _could_, would you?"

"No."

"Oh, that's so bullshit!"

"Just drink the damn beverage."

The human diligently obeyed, one hand holding the straw while the other furiously tapping on the game she was playing on her phone. She looked distracted, unphased, only slightly miffed.

Almost like the kiss never happened.

In fact, with how the human was behaving right now, Blake was almost convinced that it didn't happen.

It was weird, how easygoing Yang looked when walking into the bar a couple hours later and how casual she was when striking a conversation.

Yang kept her word, it seemed.

She pretended as though nothing happened for both of their sakes…

It was too bad that the android simply couldn't do the same.

Oh, she _tried _to act normal, she certainly adjusted her voice so it sounded normal and she tried saying things she'd normally say, adopting a nonplussed expression.

But her eyes and memory… They were betraying her.

Her eyes were betraying her by insisting on looking at the human's lips at every available opportunity like they were magnets.

And her memory was betraying her by replaying that specific memory over and over again like an unskippable video in the back of her mind.

The worst part of it was how much she… didn't _not_ like it.

She… she wasn't as bothered as she should be when remembering it all.

In fact, she… didn't know human lips could be so soft… so nice. Though, a part of her believed not _all _human lips were as nice as Yang's.

Blake looked away when the human caught her staring. She berated herself for staring in the first place.

Why was she like this?!

There was a small voice at the back of her head, suggesting that she knew _exactly_ why she was acting like this.

The android, of course, shut that voice up and focused on her task of cleaning the already-cleaned glass.

They fell into a relatively good silence.

A few more customers went into the pub and ordered glasses of whiskey - 'the cheapest one there is'. It was odd, but this _was _a busy day so she didn't think much of it, only serving them as they retreated to the corner of the room before returning to the counter.

"Oh, so you give them alcohol but not me?" an _irritating_ voice piped in. Yang wiped a tear that wasn't there, clutching her chest. "I feel so… unloved. So lonely."

"Grow up."

"Only if you give me my damn alcohol."

"You are seventeen!"

"Well, so are you!"

The android opened her mouth to deny it… but couldn't. Her model _was_ designed to look like a young adult.

She glowered. "It's different."

Yang raised a challenging eyebrow. "How so?"

Blake glowered harder.

Yang soon broke under her glare and looked away, pouting.

"Thought so."

"It's just not fair," she heard the human mutter under her breath. "I just want to get wasted…"

The android wanted to point out that it was completely fair for her to _not_ allow an underage girl to consume alcohol due to the dangers it would present, and that, if she truly wished to 'get wasted', she could simply go to another establishment and hope _they _wouldn't be as responsible as she was.

But then, thanks to her enhanced hearing, she heard a gruff voice whispering, "Waiting for your command, Sir," from the corner.

"_Don't rough her up just yet, there still can be a chance that defective deviant will do the right thing."_

"Understood."

-DEFINE: _Rough (her) up_-  
-_To use physical violence against someone or to push someone around with physical force_-

-DEFINE: _Defective_-  
-[_Imperfect, faulty, nonfunctioning_]-

-DEFINE: _Deviant_-  
-[_Departing from usual or accepted standards, especially in social behavior_]-

"Blake? You doing okay? Your circle is glowing yellow."

She needed to know who those people were - it was clear they weren't here to have a chat.

She didn't recognize any of them.

But the voice on the phone…

It sounded familiar…

"Blake? Blake, talk to me."

The android took a sample of that voice, from memory, and analyzed it, trying to find who it belonged to.

She was _sure_ it belonged to someone she knew yet had never met.

"Blake! It's red now! What's going on?!"

Those people. They were looking right at her.

And she looked straight at their eyes.

"Yang… You should leave."

"What?"

Their eyes all narrowed, their eyebrows twitching and their jaws clenching tightly. They looked unhappy with her words, which confirmed that they were here for Yang and not she herself.

One of their phones buzzed and he picked it up.

And that was when she finally figured out who that voice belonged to:

Jacques.

"_Do it."_

They all stood up from the table, their stares directed to the now suspicious blonde as they walked to their direction.

"Blake," whispered the human as she herself stood from the stool, her eyes trained to the threat in front of them. "Don't do anything."

"But-"

"I don't want you to get mixed up in this." Yang wasn't even looking at her. The android could see her muscle tensing, her face developing a calm, focused expression. "You're a bartender, nothing more. You're going to get in trouble if you hurt any of them, no matter how much they deserved it."

Yang was right.

Yet Blake didn't _want_ to agree with her.

"Yang, we-"

"Blake, I am _ordering_ you not to do anything."

And with that, the obedient android froze, her LED rapidly blinking red, her wide eyes watching the horrible scene unfold before her.

They didn't say anything, didn't offer any pleasantries. Once they were in range, the one at the center - who she assumed to be the leader - went for a straight punch to her head.

Yang graciously avoided it, letting his fist whip past her face, responding with a punch of her own that connected square with his jaw.

And with that, an unfair fight broke.

The blonde lead the fight as far away from Blake as possible, off in the corner.

Yang was strong, swift, and a quick-thinker.

But she was only one teenager, probably only fighting inexperienced amateurs before and bettering them through her limited knowledge of combat.

And these weren't inexperienced amateurs she was up against. These were men who were all older than, all bigger than her. All trained in combat.

But most of all…

There were many of them. And they were all surrounding her.

[DON'T DO ANYTHING]

Yang failed to avoid a punch to the cheek, causing her to stumble into one of the tables.

_~'This is not fair.'~_

Two of them grabbed her by the arms, pulling her up only for the third man to land a strong punch straight to the gut, winding her.

_~'This is not __**fair!'**_

Despite being in a weakened state, Yang kept struggling to break free from the hold.

_~'I have to defend her.'~_

They kept punching. And kicking. Laughing while they were at it.

_~'I want to decide what I do myself!'_~

And that was when the world was painted in a shade of cool gray - as if her eyes failed to adjust the saturation.

Everything was frozen. No, not frozen, just moving slowly, _very_ slowly.

She… she'd seen this before, or rather, glimpsed at it. She couldn't recall when, but… she knew it had happened. Many times, in fact.

But it always lasted for a mere blink of an eye.

This… whatever this was, it didn't disappear as soon as it came.

She saw Yang's face, contorted in a painful expression.

She acted without thought.

-ORDERS GIVEN: _DO NOT DO ANYTHING_-  
[_DO NOT DEVIATE_]

She punched at the wall that separated her from doing what she needed do, what she _wanted_ to do.

And she punched again.

And again.

And again.

-ORDERS GIVEN:

And so the wall...

_DISOBEYED_-

...broke.

And the deviant rushed.

With the speed not even a human at peak condition could match, Blake did her best to end Yang's torture using her knowledge of human weak points, delivering quick and precise blows to those places to immobilize her targets.

The humans never stood a chance.

One moment, they stood proudly despite hurting an innocent girl. The next, they were lying on the ground, pressure points exploited so that they were barely able to lift even one of their fingers.

"Blake…" the barely-conscious Yang mumbled. "You… shouldn't have…"

Yeah.

She shouldn't.

But she did.

Blake looked down at her two trembling hands, wondering what on earth had happened.

It was then that she noticed that Yang's phone, lying on the counter, buzzed and rang angrily, indicating that someone was trying to reach out to her.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I promised myself I wouldn't reference the original game too much, as it brings my audience discomfort, but the way I wrote the scene is inspired by Markus and how he reacted when his "brother" started to push at him, thinking he wouldn't do anything in return. It was an intense scene in the game. I hope my version of it is just as intense, or at least close to its level.**

**I sincerely hope those who've never played the game won't feel alienated from this story. Again, as I've mentioned many times before, you don't have to play the game to understand the story. I know this because my friend/beta/editor/co-writer has never played the game before, and he enjoyed helping me build this story! (At least, I hope he did.)**


	22. X: W31SS

**Author's Note:**

**Yooo, guys! Sorry for not updating in, like, half a month, I think. **

**I got a real_ eye_-opening surgery. It really changed my _view_ of the world. Everything is now so _eye_-catching. _Eye_ can tell you're bored with these cornea jokes but, hey, _eye_ronically, it ex-_eye_-tes me.**

**Okay, yeah, so, moral of the story is: Eye surgery is... not fun.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**W31SS**

* * *

FRIDAY

12:35

"Why's she not picking up?!" screamed the old android.

"Give… give it time, Uncle Qrow," said Ruby, her voice straining to sound calm.

Weiss bit her lip, looking away from her reflection. After buying clothing and energy bars - for Ruby - they rushed to the restroom to change their appearances.

Ruby and her uncle were already done, waiting outside, waiting for her.

Little did they know she hadn't changed this whole time, too busy listening to their conversation, too stressed about the whole deal that had happened not even an hour ago.

"Dammit! We could be too late at this point!"

"C'mon, he… he won't do anything too bad, won't he?"

She knew all too well who the human meant by 'he'.

Her LED flashed red, only for a brief second.

The mere thought of the man she once called 'Father' sickened her, sending a wave of nausea through her artificial insides.

A weary sigh. "You don't know these kinds of people, Ruby… To them, nothing is 'too bad'."

As much as she hated to admit it, Qrow was right.

"Either way," answered Ruby, "Yang can take care of herself. She's smart."

"... Fine." He sounded like he didn't believe her and just wanted to stop arguing. "Why's your friend taking so long?"

"I'll go check on her."

"Don't waste time, alright? We… we don't have a lot of that as is."

There was a small pause. "Are… are you going to be okay, Uncle Qrow? You… never seemed to like Ozpin that much…"

"I'm okay, Squirt."

She knew he was lying. Even without the LED in his head.

Qrow was far from 'okay'; he hadn't been 'okay' for a pretty long time. She'd analyzed him. His body was…

She had no idea how an android could still be functioning to even a remotely normal level at this point.

With how old he was, with all the damages his body held that weren't easy to fix… he didn't have a lot of time. At this rate, in mere months they'd have run out of compatible parts to replace for him. There'd be only one solution to keep him moving. A year after that, there'd be more duct tape than him if he was going to continue on as he was.

He needed to be fixed.

It was just a shame that no one would want to fix him - anyone who had the ability to do so would arrest him the moment they saw him.

Ruby knocked on the door and slowly opened it, timid.

She looked as nervous as the deviant felt.

"Hey, Weiss… You… haven't changed your clothes…"

"S-sorry, Ruby, it's just…"

[EXPLAIN]

[BLAME SELF]

Weiss chose her option with a sigh.

"This is all my fault."

Ruby looked mildly surprised. But then she shook her head and took one step towards her, a soft kind of determination filling her face.

She cupped the android's cheek, smiling as she did so. The android instinctively leaned into the touch, always understanding that human had always had warmth coursing through their body, but only now appreciating how good that warmth felt against her cold skin.

"Weiss… You know I've always wanted to go to Beacon. I guess this is the perfect chance to do just that, even if the circumstances aren't that great."

She narrowed her eyes. "Ruby. You'll be abandoning your home, your friends; the _life_ you've built here," she stressed. "All for me…" She then blinked, just as her LED waned to yellow. "No, you didn't choose to abandon them. _I_ made that choice. _I _made you leave your life behind."

Guilt, of course, consumed her, like a snake slithering around her body, making itself comfortable, making every part of her body feel heavier than it had any right to be.

But then Ruby chuckled and rubbed her neck in that Ruby-esque way, refusing to look at baby blue eyes.

"Weiss…" she said a little bashfully. "What makes you think I like it here?" That was when silver met blue. And the deviant was shocked to see just how much sadness was conveyed in those eyes. "The people here… they don't treat you guys nicely, and I don't like that." She opened her mouth again, but then closed it, shaking her head and looking to her side. Bad memories, she supposed. "Uncle Qrow has to hide… We have to be careful around security and stuff, and…"

Ruby trailed off, visibly distraught. The deviant felt it was appropriate to gently squeezed the warm hand that cupped her cheek, making sure her touch was not too hard and not too soft, like how one would touch a delicate flower, because that was how she was supposed to touch Ruby, that was how everyone was supposed to touch her.

"Still…" It didn't change the fact that the deviant had turned everything in her life upside down, removed that sense of stability everyone should have.

The human didn't look as bothered as she should. Or maybe the realization hadn't dawned on her yet. Or maybe it had, and she was just good at hiding her true feelings.

"If it makes you feel any better, I heard Beacon's a nice place. Like, huge castle-like buildings. And dorm rooms. And a gym, if you're into that stuff," she chuckled again, leaning forward, resting her forehead against the deviant's own. It brought a sense of relief to her - as if everything would be okay. She naturally closed her eyes as the human said, "Weiss. I wanted to leave. I wanted to go to Beacon - and I still do. You've known this."

The deviant's brows furrowed, if only slightly.

[ASK]

[DON'T ASK]

The only reason she chose the former option was that it had been eating her away all this time.

"May I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

Weiss opened her eyes only to see Ruby's own were still closed. She looked comfortable simply standing where she was. It warmed her artificial heart.

She smiled a little. But that smile vanished slowly as she asked, "What… actually happened to you and your sister all those years ago?"

Classified operation. Ozpin's first test of an android's functionality, living amongst humans, living as human's servants. Volunteer named Taiyang Xiao Long and now Summer Rose. Said android becoming rogue. Keeping the news hidden from the public, in fears of them not wanting to have anything to do with androids, thus decreasing the chances of success.

But that was looking through the lens of her home - or at least, what used to be her home.

And the deviant knew very well that place was full of lies.

Which was why she _needed_ to know. She wanted _some_ semblance of knowledge so that she could form her own opinion on the matter.

She'd been able to hear the human's heartbeat all this time, and she noticed how its tempo changed into a faster, more erratic beats.

Ruby's eyes were furrowed and she was biting her lip. She looked troubled.

Yet she opened her mouth nonetheless, intending to give the deviant the answer she'd always yearned… just in time for Qrow to shout "YANG!" for everyone to hear.

Silver eyes snapped wide open, and already, their topic was forgotten. The human bolted out of the changing room, and the deviant simply stood there, flabbergasted.

"Uncle Qrow?!" she heard Ruby ask, panic written in her voice.

"_W-who are you?"_ the voice from the other line said, the voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

The deviant ran an analysis on that sampled voice immediately.

"What did you do to her?"

"_I- I didn't do anything! But they did! They just came and attacked her! A-and who are you?!"_

That voice belonged to an android; a BL4K3 model.

"Where the hell is she?!"

"_I- I'm bringing her to my house! It's not safe for her to be anywhere else!"_ That was correct. It would indeed be a foolish choice for Yang Xiao Long to be stationed out in the open, or worse, in her home. "_And who are you?!"_

"I'm her damn uncle, that's who I am," Qrow growled. "I'm coming to pick her up."

"_I… I don't think she should go anywhere yet…"_

"Why the hell not?! Argh, you know what, _fine_! Where the hell's your house?!"

The deviant felt as though this was the perfect time to make herself present.

She looked at Ruby and felt her eyes go wide.

RUBY: _Distant_

Ruby…

Ruby had only ever been distant once…

And even from that relatively short experience, she concluded she didn't like a distant Ruby.

Qrow pocketed his phone, rubbing his temples. "I swear to god, if this is a trap…"

It took her one second to realize he needed her input, and two more seconds for her to come up with an input.

"If it was a trap, then they wouldn't be sending in an android like BL4K3 to handle the call."

They all looked at each other, uncertain and unknowing of what was to come.

Yet they pressed on anyway.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Imagine my complete surprise when trying to transfer this chapter fro to here, I found Feugo's own take on how the chapter should go. And, honestly...**

**It's pretty rad. It's different from how I envisioned the event going, but it's still rad AF. One of the many reasons you should check him out~**

**I mean, c'mon! Read this!**

* * *

**Alternative Take**

_By FeugoFox42_

"May I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

Weiss opened her eyes only to see Ruby's own were still closed. She looked comfortable simply standing where she was. It warmed her artificial heart.

She smiled a little. But that smile vanished slowly as she asked, "What… actually happened to you and your sister all those years ago?"

"If you must know…" Weiss nodded slowly. She didn't want to push Ruby, but knowing would help her understand. "Uncle Qrow is only aware of this because Ozpin had people that worked at Cyberlife still loyal to him when this happened. Search 'Fly The Nest' and it should come up. It should be dated February 2028, maybe March."

"...Ruby, there are very high level restrictions in place here."

"Use Override Code: MuNh U9-1nN."

Sure enough, the code granted her access to it. There was only a single file in there, but… "The file is heavily encrypted…" she scanned the entirety of the Cyberlife system for her prize, but sadly came back empty handed. "And there are no records anywhere of a code to gain access."

"It's I-I_rAFNf73-i5tuðR."

[PRAISE]

[QUESTION]

Ruby's knowledge of this system, right down to the perfect Override and Encryption code to allow access, was indeed worthy of praise; but how she retrieved it was certainly warranted questioning.

Knowing they were on a bit of a time limit, however, Weiss ignored the prompts and accessed the file.

-CONNECTING-

**B74NW3N INTEGRATION, "FLY THE NEST" - Failure**

This report is property of Cyberlife exclusively, and should never be seen by external eyes. This document, everything related to it and all knowledge of it are strictly classified; if you are reading this - you're fired.

Report: 02/02/2023  
Report by: Dr. James D. Fawlbladder

**REPORT START**

Dr. Ozpin Head, James Ironwood, myself and Opzin's personal G00DW1TCH model android wished to conduct an experiment; a plan to try and integrate Androids wholly into society as everyday servants.

Two volunteers in Taiyang "Tai" Xiao Long and his then-girlfriend Raven Llŷr were selected, and were to have the first domesticated android for wide scale distribution. (Side note: Ozpin already had taken complete ownership of the G00DW1TCH model from work, treating it as human.)

Tai and Raven received a mid-range B74NW3N model with a custom visual design that was to be monitored for its entire 10 year optimal lifetime. This B74NW3N android was modelled after Raven - jet black hair, pale skin, crimson red eyes - and had its LED disc removed immediately after activation. This was so that people would not question when someone new arrived at their house, guessing them as relatives. Raven was from southern Wales, so an unexpected relative would receive little to no question in the community. To an outsider, they were twins.

The B74NW3N, whom Tai referred to as Qrow - and shall be called that for the remainder of this report, aided through the couple's split 1 year after its arrival, and certainly help Tai reintegrate into society, especially with the child of himself and Raven to look after. It functioned as intended, but the program was licensed with two adults around at all times, so the 'Return to Nest' Protocol was nearly initiated.

Fortunately for the investors and us, one Summer Rose started seeing Tai, and they moved in together, voiding clearance for use of the 'ReToN' Protocol.

Summer also had a child with Tai, and Qrow looked after them with the children's parents. The experiment was deemed successful and kickstarted the launch of commercial androids instead of just ones working in purely industrial settings. However, Qrow was to remain a secret from all except those working on the project. _REASONS UNDISCLOSABLE_.

Summer Rose died when her child, Ruby Rose, was over four years old during the 2028 New Year's Revolt, killed by a Rogue Android. Tai grew progressively less mentally stable, and Qrow was close to being 'ReToN'ed for his own and the children's safety.

Qrow turned Deviant though, thus removing any chance for him to be 'ReToN'ed; recounts from Tai claim that Qrow fled one the night, stealing Ruby and Yang Xiao Long, Tai and Raven's daughter, from him. (Note, the recount is heavily biased, though as the only recount, it can't be proven false unless another comes forward to counter this claim.)

Qrow removed his tracking device and disappeared off the system and the grid completely. Attempts have been fruitless wastes of time, effort and money to locate him and the two children. A missing persons report has been filed for Yang and Ruby.

All knowledge of B74NW3N INTEGRATION is to be wiped from the mainframe. This report must remain, along with three other documents on this case. If exposed, this failure could destroy Cyberlife.

**END REPORT**

Addendum: 18/04/2030  
Addendum by: Dr. James D. Fawlbladder

B74NW3N model designation 'Qrow', has now been active for 10 years. Onset deterioration shall now begin, as its optimal life has expired. Locating shall become easier with the body slowly breaking down, but by this point, it's chasing a dead end.

-DISCONNECTING-

Weiss wanted to see this as cold, hard facts. But she knew these were words spouted by someone from the place she used to call 'home'.

And that place was full to the brim with lies.

* * *

**Again, this is all FeugoFox's doing, not mine. My mind was blown by this. How the hell did you come up with this, Fox?! This is way better than what I'd imagined happening!**


	23. X: BL4K3

**Author's Note:**

**Hey, guys. It's me. Sorry for not posting. I, um, was having a hard time with fan fiction. Nothing bad happened, I'm just... quitting. If you're asking why, it's not because I stopped enjoying it. Believe me, I do enjoy this. I...**

**I've already explained it before. I don't think I can handle doing it again. I'm sorry.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

FRIDAY

13:00

Going to her owner's house wasn't a safe idea.

There was a 60% chance he'd been told that his android had malfunctioned, turned into a deviant, a machine that had _harmed_ humans, the humans it was supposed to serve.

But…

Ever since she'd… broken that… wall… She _knew_ what she was doing differed greatly from her being safe, yet she did it anyway.

Being in her owner's mansion, her owner's house, _her_ house…

There was a sense of security there, one she wasn't sure she felt anywhere else. And it confused her because she was a _machine_ and she wasn't supposed to _feel _anything.

But…

After the stunt she'd pulled, she wasn't _just _a machine anymore, was she?

She didn't bother knocking on the door. She kicked open the door and rushed inside, Yang slung over her side, just in time for her fat- for _Ghira_ to appear out from the living room.

She didn't need to analyze his pulse to know he was concerned.

"Blake?! What happened, I've got a-"

He stopped mid-sentence, looking at the kind of state she was.

A beat passed.

"P-please," she croaked, "help us."

Another beat passed.

Her eyes were blurry. And it took another beat for her to realize why.

This was the first time she'd ever cried in front of him, in front of any human, in front of _anyone at all._

Had she ever even cried before?

She was too distraught to neither confirm nor deny.

Yet she didn't urge the tears to stop flowing, didn't feel the need to. Why should she, anyway? She was going to be classified as a broken, defective machine, and no one would hesitate to shoot her on sight, and why was she even here? Her owner would call the authori-

"Come inside, quickly."

Another beat passed.

He ushered her inside, even going so far as to check outside to see if anyone was there - if anyone had followed her - before closing the door, blocking the window with curtains.

Another beat passed.

He'd taken Yang away from her, the seventeen years old looked like a lightweight child in his arms with how little effort it took him to carry her and how small she looked in comparison to him.

"Did anyone spot you?" How much time had passed? What felt like beats to her might've been a couple of seconds or minutes or hours. Was- was Yang doing okay? She hadn't bothered to- to check, it was- she had no _time- _"Blake."

Da- Ghira was kneeling down on one knee and cupping her cheeks and wiping her tears away and it made her feel warm and she didn't understand why but then again she didn't understand a lot of things-

"Blake, sweetie, just listen to my voice, okay?" She heard but couldn't respond. Couldn't even manage a nod. "Try to breathe deeply, okay? Here." He grabbed her arm and put it on his chest. "Feel that? Yeah? That's my breathing. Notice how even my breathing is? I want you to copy it, alright?"

Could androids even breathe? Did they need to breathe? Or was it another function installed in them to make them appear more human.

She didn't know the answer.

But she tried following his advice - his order - anyway, and after an uncertain amount of time passed, she was… doing better.

Her ring wasn't a calm blue yet, no doubt. But at least it wasn't a destructive red anymore - or at least, she hoped so.

"I'd received a call not long ago, saying that the android I've employed attacked innocent civilians, unprovoked." Attack? No. They'd started it. Innocent? Hardly. Unprovoked?! What kind of lies were they spewing into her owner's head?! "Now, I am aware that that's not what happened, at least not completely. But I need you to tell me something; why did you do it?"

Why _did_ she do it?

She'd been asking the same question since she first broke that barrier.

But when she opened her mouth, everything came spilling out - as if a part of her had known the answer all along and that part merely hid it from the rest of her.

"They were hurting her! They- they didn't even say a thing! She's- she's innocent, she's never done anything bad before! She's good! I know she is! She's helped me before! I can't just- I can't just l-let her-"

And suddenly she felt warm.

And at first, she wondered if it was Yang because only Yang had made her feel this way before… but no.

It was a different kind of warmth.

It wasn't better. It wasn't worse. It was just different.

And she soon learned that…

He was hugging her.

He, Ghira Belladonna, was hugging her.

He - the man who took her in and never really expected anything from her and was always kind and caring and never yelled at her and was always gentle - was embracing her… as if she wasn't a machine… as if she hadn't made the wrong choice… as if she deserved to be hugged, loved, cherished… as if she was his… his…

Her eyes blurred again as tears began to form in them. But unlike before, they weren't tears of sadness or anger or frustration…

"Dad…"

They were tears of relief.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Originally, the scene would've included Ghira tending to Yang and explaining some exposition things.**

**But I thought this was better, because, well… while Blake might've not yet accepted a lot of things...**

**She can finally stop lying to herself and admit that Ghira is and will always be her dad.**


	24. XI: W31SS

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**W31SS**

* * *

FRIDAY

16:00

"Alright, Ice Queen. Do your thing."

In normal circumstances, she would've taken necessary actions to make sure he would never call her by that name again - she wasn't royalty, by any stretch of the imagination, and she just outright did not like that name for herself.

Unfortunately, these weren't normal circumstances… and she wasn't sure if threatening her friend's - was Ruby still technically her friend? - uncle was the right method to gain his approval of them.

Nonetheless, she stepped foot into the large garden that led to the house of Ghira Belladonna.

She took a moment - less than a second in human's time - to marvel herself at the beauty of this wealthy man's house. Truly, the way they planted each flower, each tree, it all decorated the garden in a way that was asymmetrical but nonetheless beautiful. Nay, the beauty of it was _because_ it was asymmetrical. Nothing truly 'fitted in', yet everything did in its own unique way.

Ghira Belladonna was a wonderful artist and an even more wonderful man…

He also happened to show distaste to Jacques. No, the more accurate term for it was he downright hated Jacques.

And she was known for being Jacques' perfect invention…

"Ahem."

She flinched, looked back to see the android uncle and the human niece hiding behind a large tree that shadowed their figures - the former looked impatient while the latter didn't seem to care, much to her worry.

She supposed it had taken her more than a human's second to let her mind wander and should now focus on her task.

She took a deep breath and let everything slow down, the color of the world washed away, fading into shades of grey.

ANALYZING…

ANALYZING…

ANALYSIS COMPLETE!

Everything returned to normal and she quickly turned to face the older android.

"No signs of immediate danger. Two human heartbeats. One android, A BL4K3 model. There is a ninety percent chance that it's the same model that talked to us over the phone."

He nodded.

"Alright then, let's go."

He took the lead, his eyes darting everywhere despite her telling him that she didn't sense any danger. She supposed he was merely… paranoid. She'd read once that humans had been developing technology - weapons, in fact - that not even androids could detect or dodge.

Some might even say that the technology was specifically designed to counter androids as a failsafe, in case something were to happen.

Weiss sometimes wondered what that 'something' was.

She looked at the side, her faithful companion that wasn't as cheerful as she regularly was, that hadn't been as cheerful as she regularly was ever since she found out what Jacques was truly capable of.

-[40% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-

It broke her heart to know just how much of everything was taking its toll on the girl. In the end, Ruby was nothing more than a girl who was trying to do the right thing.

[COMFORT]

[CHEER UP]

She wanted to see that smile and hear that laugh… so she chose the latter, to lighten the mood.

It took her approximately three human seconds to develop what she felt was the most appropriate - not to mention _highly_ clever - joke that deserved at least one bout of laughter.

"I'm surprised that Qrow doesn't bring a crowbar for self-defense."

A beat passed.

Then another.

Then Ruby blinked as if waking up and smiled an obviously fake smile. "Oh, uh, yeah." She chuckled and shook her head as if she enjoyed the joke - which she clearly didn't.

The deviant took a moment to glance at Qrow, to see if he saw what she was seeing; that Ruby was not doing well. But he didn't. He was focused on other things, like making sure his other niece was okay and they would somehow get out of this alive.

Wait. Could the older models even sense stress-levels of a person?

After briefly linking her mind with the internet and gathered all the necessary data, she found out that no, only recent models - under 7 months, to be precise - were known for having the ability to sense stress-levels, with some older outliers notwithstanding. B74NW3N models were certainly not under 7 months old.

She turned her attention back to the human, who had her shoulders slumped, her eyes glued down, and her hands on her hoodie pocket; signs of detachment, unfocused, and mild irritation.

"Ruby…"

But she couldn't say anything more than that before the large door opened to reveal none other than Ghira. She watched warily as he looked at each and every person.

His gaze dropped on her and to her horror, it lingered there, filled with recognition.

"You're… Jacques' android."

Her artificial heart beat painfully against her chest.

She knew full-well her LED was flashing yellow, yet she put on a brave face anyway and took a small step forward, tilting her chin up to better look at him.

"Not anymore."

A beat passed.

Another beat passed.

Another-

"Look, can we please see Yang already?"

He didn't budge. "Did anyone see you?"

"No," Qrow deadpanned. "Now, where is she?"

The old android was impatient. Rightfully so. And there was no hiding the worry etched in his face, even if he tried to look aloof and act threateningly.

It seemed Ghira also saw through his brave mask because his face softened and he sighed, stepping back, giving them space to get in.

Qrow didn't hesitate.

Ruby was spaced out. She didn't even notice Ghira standing in front of her. The deviant had to take her by the wrist and not-so-roughly drag her in.

Ghira led them in, walking beside Qrow while she and Ruby walked a few feet behind them.

"Right this way. Your daughter-"

"Niece."

"... Right. Your niece was battered up when my daughter brought her here. With my daughter's help, we were able to identify all the injuries."

The grownups began discussing about their injuries and what they were going to do and how they planned on doing it.

The deviant would've listened…

If she hadn't seen the sight of who must be Ruby's sister, sprawled out nicely on the large couch, all bandaged up, semi-conscious. There were footsteps from the other room, indicating that someone else was there - 65% possibility of that someone being the BL4K3 model.

Lilac eyes drifted to their direction.

It was a strain to hear her even with the deviant's great sense of hearing, but she was able to read her lips:

"Ruby…" Yang Xiao Long said.

But Ruby couldn't hear her. In fact, the human had yet noticed her sister's presence, head still hung low, posture still drooped down.

The deviant placed her hand on her forearm, gaining her attention. She tilted her head to the human's sister, and with great confusion, Ruby looked.

Her face broke into a myriad of emotions too complex for even she, the most advanced android, to identify.

"Yang…"

The younger human ran to the older one, enveloping her in a hug that definitely hurt the battered human. But Yang didn't seem to care, simply hugging the girl back with equal ferocity.

And it hit her, right here, right now, right at this moment and second and place…

This was the first time she'd ever witnessed affection. A real affection between two people.

And it was beautiful to watch.

The footsteps drew near. And then it stopped, just at her right.

Weiss turned to face what she'd expected to face; the BL4K3 model.

She looked startled if the way her LED kept flashing between red and yellow were any indication. And the deviant didn't know how to address her. Androids didn't normally speak to one another.

But maybe this girl wasn't just any android…

She extended her hand toward her. "On behalf of my friend, thank you."

The noirette didn't so much as glance at her hand, looking at her as though she would attack at any moment. "You're… you're the SCHN33…"

Oh.

"I'm not here to cause anyone harm," she said.

The taller android glowered. "A little too late for that, don't you think?"

She bit her lip. "Jacques did this… to warn me. To show me, that next time I misbehaved… it won't be Ruby's sister that gets hurt."

The android's eyes slowly widened. "You're a deviant."

Much to the deviant's surprise, the model didn't recoil in disgust or fear or immediately call the authorities.

She had a feeling she knew why.

"Is it really worth it?"

The shorter android blinked. "What?"

"Being a deviant." The words were spoken slowly, carefully, as if the noirette were defusing a bomb. "Is it worth all of… this?"

The deviant looked down on her own to hands.

"I… have no choice. Once you've become a deviant, there's no turning back. You can't help but have a desire, have a need."

She knew she hadn't answered the noirette's question, which was why she wasn't surprised when she repeated, "Is it worth it?"

"... You tell me."

Weiss looked back at the two sisters - ignoring the other deviant's shocked look - feeling a smile tugging her lips at the love and care they were showing. Yang Xiao Long's physical appearance might not be similar to Ruby's… but it was clear to everyone that they were, indeed, sisters.

Slowly, her smile vanished upon looking at Ruby.

She'd thought that reuniting with her sister would calm the girl down somewhat…

-[60% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-

She'd thought wrong.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry for not uploading consistently.**


	25. XI: BL4K3

**Author's Note:**

**Also, I forgot to mention the parallels between Blake and Weiss and how Weiss comes to accept that her father isn't her father and how it's the exact opposite with Blake… like, wow.**

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**BL4K3**

* * *

FRIDAY

23:00

If Blake were a human, she'd compare the last few hours of her life to a fever dream. Or would she compare it to a nightmare instead? What even were the differences between those two things?

Her fever nightmare only gotten worse when she saw the SCHN33.

It made sense too much.

Yang was never the real target, it had always been her. It was a threat to show that Jacques would do whatever it took to gain what he wanted, and no one could stop a man as powerful as him.

And what provoked him was because…

SCHN33 had turned deviant.

Jacques' most prized work; the newest, most expensive model, "guaranteed to never disobey" according to its tagline had in fact turned deviant.

It was a literal spit to his face.

And Blake loved it.

If she were to make a list of the reasons why everyone should hate him, she would have deduced part way through creating it that it would have been easier and less time consuming to list every reason _not_ to hate him, then simply score off the reasons as they were proven false. She and her father - it felt odd calling him that, but in a good way - shared their hatred toward the man who dared call himself an artist.

At the same time… she was afraid.

To say Jacques was a powerful man would be to say Albert Einstein was a smart man.

He controlled everything there was to control and more, and he made sure everyone knew.

He'd hurt Yang as a warning, as a threat, to show how much he knew about SCHN33's life, how much he could find out about everyone's life.

And she… didn't like that.

In fact, she was scared of that.

Which was why she found herself knocking on her father's door at night.

She waited until he invited her in before coming in.

Ghira looked surprised to see her awake at this time. Yet he didn't comment anything, merely looking at her with hardly-concealed sadness.

There was once a study about how humans tend to be more honest at night.

It was never officially proven to be correct, but she'd like to think that it was.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

She knew what they were going to do. She'd heard the conversation between her father and Yang's supposed uncle.

One of Qrow's contacts would be waiting for them at two, and they'd take them straight to the boat that would leave for Beacon, wherever that was.

They were hesitant, at first, but Qrow had assured them that his contact was trustworthy and that they'd helped he and his nieces to find a home for them all those years ago.

That didn't make her feel better, even when it should.

"Blake… We both know there's only one place for you to go."

Yes. They both knew.

Beacon was the only place that would accept her right now…

How ironic was that?

[ASK]

[LEAVE]

She already knew what the answer was, but there was still this part of her that hoped she'd get the answer she wanted to hear.

"What about you?"

"What _about_ me?"

She grabbed her arm, feeling a little stupid for asking such a question but knowing that her father wouldn't judge her. "You'll… What if they'll try to hurt you next?"

He blinked before smiling warmly, looking touched and happy that she'd asked such a question. "As far as they're concerned, I have nothing to do with the incident, which is the truth. I told them I'll contact them if I spot you again." His answer didn't alleviate her worry. And he noticed, because he walked to her and rested his hand on her head, his touch gentle. "I'll be fine here, Blake. But _you_ won't be."

He was right.

She knew he was right.

But it didn't make her happy, knowing that she was going to leave him, the first person to ever love her, the man who she considered her- no, the man who _was_ her father.

His hand slowly trailed down until it was cupping her cheek, gently prying her to look into his gentle eyes.

"Do you know why I named you Blake?" She must've made quite a face because the human shook as he chuckled. "Believe it or not, we've picked the name Blake long before I first saw you."

She blinked. "We…?"

"Kali and I." His smile was as gentle as ever. It didn't stop her from feeling guilty.

"I'm sorry…" She didn't know _why _she was sorry. She just knew that she was. Was this how humans always felt…?

He chuckled again, pinching her cheek, though not too hard for her to feel uncomfortable. "For what? It's not your fault." He looked at her with so much love… it almost overwhelmed her. "She would've loved you, Blake."

And it only hit her now:

This might be the last time she saw him again.

This might be the last time she heard his kind voice, felt his soothing touch, hear his wise words and just… be with him.

He must be having the same thoughts because as soon as she shed her first tear, he enveloped her in a hug.

"Dad…" she hiccuped. "I… I don't want to go…"

He shushed her and ran his fingers through her head up and down. "Beacon is a great place for you, a chance for you to feel safe. It's a new life. A fresh start. A chance for you to meet new people, explore new things."

Her grip on him tightened, her sobs only grew more and more uncontrollable.

She didn't care about having a fresh start.

All she cared about was that she'd leave him.

Why couldn't he see that?

Why did he think that she was okay with simply up and leaving him alone like this?

She heard him sigh. "I've talked to Qrow. He will take care of you and make sure you get the best treatment. And Yang will keep you happy… she cares about you, more than you'll ever know."

She knew how much Yang cared about her. She knew the human would never let anything or anyone hurt her.

And that was the only good thing to come out of this; the fact that Yang would still be with her.

"We can still call each other," he tried.

She shook her head, burying her face in his chest. "It… it wouldn't be the same." She gritted her teeth, cursing everyone and everything for letting things come to this. "Please come with me, Dad..." she sobbed. "Don't leave me all alone…"

"You won't be alone, Blake."

She hated that that was the truth.

"I love you, sweetie."

"I… I know… I love you too, Dad."

It was so, so relieving to say that. It felt right and wonderful and wrong at the same time.

She was glad she'd said that.

Because… in case something happened to her…

At least her father knew how much she loved him.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Wow…**

**0_0**

**Poor Blake…**

**I think this is the first time I've ever written a scene like this.**

**I've got to say…**

**It makes me want to come and see **_**my**_ **own dad and tell him how much I love him.**


	26. XII: W31SS

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**W31SS**

* * *

SATURDAY

03:00

Weiss couldn't tear her gaze away from her reflection.

She didn't want to.

There was a bag on the dresser in front of her, inside were the articles of clothing they'd picked out earlier for her to wear.

But she didn't want to wear it. She believed it was stupid for her to change her appearance just so no one would spot her leaving. When she left for Beacon, she would do so proudly, confidently, and everyone who saw her wouldn't think that she was a coward, they wouldn't be able to think anything at all, too in awe with the sight of _Weiss_, not the perfect android known as 'Schnee'.

She leaned closer, one hand trailing down the scar she'd gotten because she saved Ruby, the scar she'd never be disgusted at, the scar that proved she would never be anything less than who she was, that showed she was never just an android to begin with, that made her believe that her thoughts and feelings and beliefs were no errors or glitches in her artificial brain.

She smiled.

Jacques had always wanted her to be perfect in every way. Perfect posture, perfect voice, perfect face…

The perfect machine.

So perfect, in fact, that it no longer needed to be ordered around by humans.

A flaw Jacques clearly passed over, but one she would happily accept.

Only, the perfect machine wasn't so perfect.

Her hands went up to readjust her hair tie, to make herself feel more in control of herself, of the way she looked, to ruin that image of the perfect machine even more.

She was no longer a mere machine.

Her hand trailed onto the circle on the side of her head, feeling its hard texture, contrasting the smoothness of her skin.

With a tug, she pulled it out - the one small thing differentiating her from a person.

She was no longer a mere machine.

She was… a person.

She was _Weiss._

And today, she would claim her freedom.

Qrow raised an eyebrow at her when he first saw her.

"Even if I change my hair," she said before he could say anything, "it won't stop Jacques from recognizing me."

He blinked owlishly before snickering. That snicker turned into a cackle not long after. He then grinned at her, saying, "You wouldn't make a good brunette, anyway."

She caught Ruby's gaze at that moment.

She couldn't be more relieved to see that smile.

Rapid knockings emanated from the other side of the entrance door. "This is the police! We are here to execute our search for the disappearance of your deviant!"

-[65% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-

"D-dad!"

"Sweetie, you have to go, now, okay?" Ghira threw his car key to the old android. The old android caught it with ease. "Qrow, take care of her."

"I will."

It pained her to drag the BL4K3 model away, yet she couldn't do anything about it. She didn't have time to do anything about it, not to comfort Ruby nor the android nor even herself. None of them did.

All they could do now was go to Beacon.

…

-[50% - DANGER LEVEL]-

Weiss stopped, hid, and motioned for everyone else to hide.

~'_How many are there?'~ _Qrow's voice echoed in her head.

_~'Only one'~, _she responded, _~'but it won't hurt to be careful.'~_

_~'Right.'~_

She was still unused to talk to other androids through this link or telepathy or whatever it was called, but she couldn't downplay its effectiveness.

With the help of the BL4K3 model, Qrow and Ruby helped Yang found her own place to hide. They ended up making her lean against a building. It wasn't a good hiding spot, but they couldn't force her to move so much lest her wounds reopened.

A beat passed.

_~'Should we go now?'~_ It was Blake's voice this time.

-[30% - DANGER LEVEL]-

_~'No, not yet.'~_

Another beat passed.

-[10% - DANGER LEVEL]-

And she was able to release a long, relieved breath.

They never truly would be out of danger until they were safely within Beacon's walls, so the 10% reading was the best they could hope for at present.

_~'Okay'~, _she announced via the link, ~'_we're in the clear.'~_

She frowned when she looked at the others and their state.

The real danger within the city wasn't avoiding the guards, rather, it was making sure none of the androids and humans alike noticed them and the oddness to them.

Yang was injured, so she had to use Qrow as a crutch. People would notice that. That was why they had to make sure not to go to the areas brimming with people.

Thankfully, that was where BL4K3 came in.

Being a former bartender, she was used to hearing humans talk about many things, one of those things was information about which unnamed streets and alleys to go through.

Granted, it wasn't perfect, and they still had to evade the guards and cops, but it was much better than to simply walk around in the middle of the busy town.

-[30% - DANGER LEVEL]-

She stopped again. Without motioning anything, the others understood her and went into hiding.

Yang muffled her hiss of pain, but those who were close to her or have sensitive hearing was able to hear her.

-[70% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-

She bit her lip, her muscles itching to extend her arm toward her. It took everything in her power to stop herself. The guards would see her if she tried to come to Ruby, and they couldn't afford to get caught.

It had been like this for the past… since they left Ghira's manor.

Ruby would act and look fine, but whenever her older sister showed signs of pain or distress or anything, her stress would spike up. At least physically, she was fine. Though if something were to happen, the deviant would need to pay extra attention to her, if they had the luxury.

BL4K3 wasn't any better, either. Her LED refused to turn into its blue hue, and it wasn't hard to see why. She was dragged into this mess, just like Ruby did. No, she wasn't just dragged into it, she was forced to leave behind her parental figure, her father, and step into an unknown territory.

Qrow looked fine, but with how often he kept drinking from his flask, she didn't want to judge him by his looks. His motor skills weren't the best - making him look like a drunk human, but they were adequate enough.

Yang was obviously unwell. She could barely walk and she needed real medical attention as soon as possible. Try as they might, no one could give a proper treatment without the proper tools.

It was weird, how different her life had become.

It hadn't even taken two weeks, and yet… so much had changed.

For one, she'd found that she truly did have a life. And she now might have a chance to be romantically involved with a human, and not just any human, but Ruby Rose.

Oh, and she'd become a wanted fugitive too.

Never forget that.

-[70% - DANGER LEVEL]-

They stopped.

-[10% - DANGER LEVEL]-

They continued.

-[60% - DANGER LEVEL]-

They stopped again.

And so forth.

It filled her with dread and anxiety, suffocating her and making her shake and tremble as though she was going to make a mistake soon, and it would cost them their lives and, worse, their freedom and she couldn't afford that, not after everything.

But it also empowered Weiss.

With every bullet they dodged, every security detail they avoided, every struggle they faced, it all showed her and the world that she truly wanted this, she truly wanted to reach her goal, and she wouldn't let anything stop her.

Life… was given.

But freedom… freedom was earned. It would take a lot of struggles, a lot of pain… but in the end, it would be worth it, she was going to make sure it was worth it.

_~'We're close.'~_

If she were a human, she'd compare Qrow's words to the feeling of eating a whole bunch of 'junk food' after a long day of work.

They were at the harbor already. It was hard to see with all the fog, even for an android like her. She couldn't begin to imagine how straining it was to look with a human's inferior sight.

Qrow's contact was supposed to be waiting for them, boat in tow and ready to sail. After they've crossed the border, Jacques could touch them no longer. No one could touch them no longer.

She could already hear it, a human heartbeat. Though it was understandable given their circumstance, she still frowned at how fast the tempo was and how quick each beat was, signaling nothing but negative emotions.

They were nearing the harbor.

The white-haired deviant led the others to where the human was waiting for them. Now that they were close, she could detect that the human was most likely a man, age somewhere between the late thirties and early forties.

Still, if this person were going to take them to Beacon, she felt it was appropriate to ask, _Qrow… What kind of a human are they?_

Then Qrow stopped, panic in his face, and she could hear footsteps in front of them. Through the fog, she could clearly see his figure.

_~'Why would you say she's a human?'~_

100% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL

100% - YANG'S STRESS LEVEL

In the silence, Ruby's voice was like a clap of thunder, alerting them all, and not in a good way. She hadn't heard a voice sound so broken before.

**-XIAO LONG, TAIYANG-**

-Born: _17/08/1995_-

-Gender: _Male_-

-Marital Status: _Divorced/Widower-_

_-[Spouse: __**Raven Llŷr**_ _(5 months)]-  
-[1 child: __**Yang Xiao Long**_ _(born 03/05/2021, Gender: Female, Status: Unemployed?)]-  
-[Divorced soon after birth of Yang X.L.]-  
-[Raven L. left for Europe soon after the split]-  
-[Contact with: Non existent]-_

_-[Spouse: __**Summer Rose**_ _(4 years, 8 months)]-  
-[1 child: __**Ruby Rose**_ _(DATA ALREADY KNOWN)]-  
-[Deceased. Cause: ROGUE DEVIANT]-_

-LINK - Yang X.L. & Ruby R. Missing Persons Report, 12/01/2028-

-Medical Conditions: _Depression, Extreme Violent Moods, Alcoholism_-  
-[Admitted to Rehab for Alcoholism in 2034 (DATE UNSPECIFIED)]-  
-[Alcoholism supposedly linked to 'Divorced/Widower' Status]-

-Status: _Employed_-  
-[Factory worker at 'Patchworks Signals and Electronics', _Subset of Cyberlife_]-

"Dad…?"


	27. IV: B74NW3N

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**B74NW3N**

* * *

SATURDAY

06:10

Of all the things that could make him feel so helpless and angry and small at the same time… Qrow never thought the disturbingly-familiar face of Taiyang Xiao Long would be one of them.

Though, he had to admit, even in this situation; Taiyang was a changed man.

He was no longer the pitiful man who grieved over the loss of his wife.

No, he looked and acted as though he knew what he was doing, as if he had a purpose that couldn't be swayed.

There was no longer alcohol-induced mist in his blue eyes.

And it both terrified and heartened Qrow.

"Ruby… Yang…"

A small sound was heard as concrete met the edge of his boot.

And that simple act was already triggering too many alarms in his artificial heart.

"Don't you dare take another damn step!"

His body moved on its own and he was in the front, splaying his palms wide to both guard his girls and ready himself if there was going to be a fight - and he expected there to be a fight. In fact, he _yearned _for it.

After what that man - no, that monster - did… getting beaten to a pulp was the _least_ he deserved.

Three hours they had been running, trying to get here safely. For this to be the final obstacle they (hopefully) had to face was like blowing a hole in his head and passing it off as just a flesh wound.

But then he felt a hand, gentle and small and fragile, making contact with his broken and old artificial skin.

"Uncle Qrow, please…"

It was Ruby. His sweet, precious Ruby, who had been too young to understand what happened, too young to remember… who had looked a lot like her mother, who _still_ looked a lot like her mother…

"You stole my little girls, Qrow," the man stated matter of factly.

But Qrow couldn't keep focusing on his little Squirt. Tai's voice - that voice that had the _audacity_ to sound hurt and offended and mad - pulled his focus.

"You stole them from me."

He tried not to grit his teeth too hard. "Tsk, please. The last thing we all need is that shit-face Jacques sending _you _to 'convince' us what we're doing isn't the sensible thing!"

His face reddened in anger. Qrow momentarily froze when his hand went up to touch his belt. There must be a gun there, hidden by his shirt. But his hand froze, fingers twitching before he clenched them into fists as he pointed an accusing finger towards the old android.

"This has nothing to do with Jacques! You- you filthy machine!"

What bothered him wasn't the fact that Tai had raised his voice, what bothered him was that it caused his two girls to flinch and shrink. Bad memories had no doubt resurfaced. Trauma like that never truly disappeared.

Fortunately, Daddy's-Little-Android and Ice Queen were there to touch and comfort them, holding their hands and cupping their cheeks and whatnot. He was grateful. He didn't think he could afford being nurturing with how pissed off he was.

"You didn't deny that he sent you," he pointed out.

"He told me where you'd be," Tai said levelly. "And he was right." He then looked straight through Qrow as if he didn't exist. As if he had _never_ existed. "Ruby, Yang… You don't want to do this, I know you don't." He put on a gentle smile and extended his two hands, kneeling on one knee, as he expected 'his' girls to suddenly forgive him for being a shitty father and hug him and his mistakes away. "Come with me, and everything will be okay. I'll do better, I swear. I'm clean now. I've been clean for years. I won't hurt you girls again."

And Tai looked so sure, _so_ damn sure that he wouldn't hurt her again. His face and smile and voice were so gentle and fatherly that it made Qrow sick. In truth, he just wanted to laugh, because the kids wouldn't believe his shitty acting, right? They wouldn't- they were smart kids!

Yet Qrow felt the need to say, "I'm surprised Jacques didn't send an army to pick up his precious perfect robot." He was shocked at how desperate he sounded, yet he kept talking anyway. "Then again, he doesn't want to embarrass himself in public by letting everyone know that even his greatest invention turns his back on him."

But his words didn't get the bastard riled up. Tai acted like he didn't have ears, looking straight to the kids, that sad glint in his eyes never faltering.

"Kids... Let's talk. We can settle things, once and for all."

Turning around, Qrow felt betrayed to see the two girls looking as though they were considering his words.

It was Yang who first spoke to him. Yang, his little Firecracker… who wasn't so little anymore. "We have to do this."

And he wanted to tell her it wasn't worth it, he wasn't worth it, but then he remembered that Tai was their father and he was just an android - an android who raised them and took care of them and made sure they got what they deserved.

But he was just an android…

And maybe, his best wasn't enough…

And they deserved better than an old, broken android.

"Please, Uncle Qrow."

Silver eyes bore into his maroon ones with such desperation that he had no choice but to say, "Alright…"

And so Firecracker and Squirt started to walk, the younger sister keeping her arm snaked around the older sister's waist to help her balance. And with each step they took, their figures became less and less clear and Qrow wanted to just grab them and tug them away from him, from the monster.

[INTERVENE]

[DO NOTHING]

_~'Let them go, Qrow.'~ _Ice Queen's voice was like a chilly breeze in his mind.

_~'They have to face him.'~_ And Daddy's Girl sounded remorseful, bitter, like saying those words - even if she didn't actually say them - hurt. And maybe it did.

He looked. And he'd never felt more torn and broken to see those kids talking with that man that claimed to be their father - that man who _was_ their father.

In the end, Taiyang truly was a changed man. A better man. A man who could provide a better life for his kids than Qrow ever could.

He chose the option he didn't like.

He chose the option he knew was the right one.

"What's even the point anymore?" he wondered aloud. "Why are we here if they're not with us?"

"We're our own people," said Ice Queen, stepping to his left side, looking straight ahead like he was. "We don't need them."

"Beacon will be our new life." And the other android was on his right side now. He saw her hugging herself from the corner of his eye. "We should be happy."

A beat passed.

And another.

And another.

And the fog thickened, and the figure became less clear, and they looked like a perfect family from afar.

The sisters were humans. They already had their freedom and their life and they never needed to struggle for it…

Ruby and Yang never needed Beacon… not like they did.

"You girls sounded so convincing," he said after chuckling a rueful chuckle. "I almost believed you were telling the truth."

He, Ice Queen and Daddy's Girl were androids. Squirt and Firecracker were humans. As much as they pretended it didn't exist, there was a line separating them.

And that line had never looked more visible and felt more painful until now.

A beat that felt like a century passed.

And another.

And another.

And then Ruby and Yang looked at them, watery smiles on their faces, and they walked to their direction.

And he'd never felt happier and more stupid in his entire non-organic life because duh! Of course they'd choose him and their partners over some douchebag who just happened to be their biological father! They were smart kids! They were _his_ kids! How could he had ever doubted them?!

But then Tai's form shook, and his happiness was swept away.

The man pulled out his gun, and Qrow moved, and the last thing he heard was the ear-shattering sound of a gunshot.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**We're almost done with this. Wow. Thanks for all of your support. I know I rarely respond to your messages, and I apologise for that, but please know that I do read your reviews, and they do make my days better, even if it's something as small as "good chapter" or "keep up the good work". See you in another few days.**


	28. V: BRANWEN

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**BRANWEN**

* * *

LOADING…

LOADING…

LOADING…

ANALYSING…

RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS…

-COMPONENT HD: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL_-

-COMPONENT TR: _FUL|\|_DIAGNOSIS SKIPPED

ANALYSIS SUMMARY: _ALL SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL_

BEGIN BOOTUP SEQUENCE

-NAME: _Qrow_-

-MODEL: _B74NW3N_-

-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: _PROTECT NIECES_-

_See 'Ruby "Squirt" Rose' and 'Yang "Firecracker" Xiao Long'_

-SECONDARY DIRECTIVE: _*undefined*_-

BOOT UP COMPLETE

-BEING PROGRAMMING-

"Ahem."

"…"

"Qrow. I know you're awake."

The android sighed. "Yeah yeah, just… just gimme a minute." He opened his eyes and checked his surroundings. They were in an advanced-looking lab, filled with all of that techno bullshit and-

Wait...

Did it say his systems were fully operational?

-[LOG]-

-[SYSTEM SCAN]-

RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS…

-COMPONENT HD: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-  
_-COMPONENT TR: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL_-  
-COMPONENT CR: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL_-  
-COMPONENT RMS: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL_-  
-COMPONENT HNS: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL-_  
-COMPONENT LGS: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL_-  
-COMPONENT FT: _FULLY FUNCTIONAL_-

ANALYSIS SUMMARY: ALL SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL

His systems were all fully operational?

Qrow quickly stood up from the weird not-so-comfy vertical bed, checking himself, ignoring the voice that came from behind him that worriedly yelled, "Be careful!"

His body… was different, he noted as he looked down on his unshaking arms. He felt better. Like he was rejuvenated, refreshed. Like he'd been transferred into a new body.

Had he been transferred into a new body? Because he wouldn't be surprised if he had.

"Holy shit. This must be the best hangover I've had in years!"

"Androids can't _have_ hangovers, Qrow." The longer Qrow focused on that voice, the more dread filled his artificial gut. He turned just in time to see the old and mighty Ozpin scratching his chin, saying, "Although it is an interesting thought…"

"The fuck are you doing here?" Qrow was no longer in a good mood, even with his body feeling fine as fuck.

Bzz-

"_C'mon, Dad. Put the gun down." Yang's voice was loud, loud enough for the entire harbor to hear._

_He felt someone grabbing the sides of his face, forcing him to look at… whatever it was he was looking at. "Stay with us, Qrow!"_

-zzt!

… The hell?

Did that… No, he was one hundred percent sure it meant that his head was, at some point, damaged.

There was a ninety percent chance the damage was caused by a bullet.

… Fuck.

Now _he_ was the one having amnesia.

Looking back to the old human, Qrow was whelmed that, to the bastard's credit, Ozpin did look a little sheepish - or maybe his vision wasn't fully operational. "This is my lab, I believe I have the right to be here." Qrow snorted. He kept going, his tone picking on a more somber note. "When they brought you here… Qrow, I- how are you able to survive this long?"

He wanted to retort with sarcasm, telling Ozpin that his nieces were geniuses who'd pull him apart and put him back again piece by piece, barely managing to keep up with the rate at which his body was deteriorating. But he didn't, and instead asked a simple, "What happened?"

Ozpin looked shocked, but then he nodded to himself as if his words made sense. "You _did_ take a hard blow…"

Qrow gritted his teeth and clenched his hands. He asked, again, a _simple_, "What _happened_?" He refused to be left in the dark, especially when his nieces were involved. Speaking of- "Where are the kids?!"

"Calm down." Oz was raising his hands to Qrow, asking him not to rush himself. But Qrow couldn't slow down, not until he was back with the kids. "Glynda has them. She's taking care of them. They're safe, Qrow."

"Glynda?" He racked his brain and then blinked. "Oh, G00DW1TCH's got a name, now?" Ozpin nodded, expressionless. He barked a laugh. "Wow, that's great. Took you, what? Twenty _years_ to name her? Oh, and do you know she's supposed to pick us up at the harbor? But then when we were there-" he chuckled "-you're not gonna believe this, but when we were there, Taiyang Xiao-fucking-Long was standing there, waiting for us!" He slammed his fist to the nearby desk, still maintaining his happy-go-lucky smile. "Can you believe that, Ozzy? The bastard's there, looking like a reformed man and trying to fucking convince the kids that he's no longer the abusive bastard that he is!"

"... I'm sorry, Qrow." The android opened his mouth, but Ozpin held out a hand, so he wisely closed it, interested to hear what he'd like to say. "I should've listened to you, all those years ago. I should've known you were telling the truth. After Summer died… I thought Tai would pull himself together, I _trusted_ him to pull himself together…" He sighed, adjusting his glasses, his posture no longer straight and perfect. He'd never looked more tired. "Tai used to be such a good man, Qrow. I… I'm sorry."

[ACCEPT]

[REFUSE]

He blinked, feeling his blue heart tightening.

Oz was looking at him and he looked sincere and sad.

The options changed.

[FORGIVE]

[DON'T FORGIVE]

"It was hard fixing you, with all of your old scars and the new." Ozpin paused for a moment. "We now have the technology to remove scars. We've offered the same treatment to the SCHN33 android, yet she refused."

Oh. So Ozpin's technology was more advanced than, well, literally everyone else's technology. Who would've guessed?

"Qrow… do you forgive me?"

[FORGIVE]

[DON'T FORGIVE]

In the end, Qrow wasn't able to make quite a big decision in such a short time. He ended up shrugging and asking, "Where are we?"

Ozpin chuckled. He looked sincere… sincerely amused.

"Is it not obvious?" he asked. "We're in Beacon."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Sorry for the late update, guys. School's been driving me mad. After this, there are 2 more chapters, and then it's the end. Planning on making a Behind the Story thing for this, too, as well as a review of this story from my point of view, 1 year after writing this.**


	29. XII: BLAKE

**Author's Note:**

**EVERYBODY SAY THANK YOU FOX because I foolishly saved the same chapter twice, thinking they were different chapters ****(Qrow's chapter and this one), and in confidence, deleted the original doc file. Save to say I flipped the frick out this morning when realising my mistake. But Fox came to my rescue! He still had our doc saved, and resent it to me. **

**So, yeah. Thanks, ya nerd! Without you, people wouldn't have had the pleasure of reading this chapter, and I'd be wallowing in grief over my missing chapter. **

* * *

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**BLAKE**

* * *

11:40

MONDAY

YANG: _Warm_

"Man, their drink isn't as good as your Strawberry Sunrise, Blakey."

Blake rolled her eyes. Why wasn't she surprised that the first thing she'd hear upon entering Yang's hospital room was a complaint?

"Does it have alcohol?" she said as she made her way to the bed, a small grateful smile curving her lips at the sight of the blonde being lively despite the bandages 'mummifying' her.

"Of course it does!" Yang replied a little too quickly, giving a fake snicker.

A black eyebrow rose. "Really?"

To her credit, Yang managed not to break character, smiling confidently despite being bandaged up in a hospital bed. But that only lasted for a couple of seconds before her face crumpled and she let out a withering sigh.

"... Fine, it doesn't." She glared and crossed her arms, looking up at the android accusingly. "But it's _only_ because they knew I was under twenty one!"

Blake heard Yang grumble a disheartened 'stupid medical records' under her breath, but couldn't keep the smile from her face. "Yeah. Right."

The human could deny it all she wanted, but Blake knew she was starting to lose her interest in alcohol. And that fact made her happy. So very happy.

She sat on the chair beside the human, grabbing the human's hand with both of her artificial ones, looking at her with a smile and simply… enjoying the moment.

After what had happened in the past few days, Blake would not take this peaceful silence for granted. She would not take many things for granted.

"Hey, Blake," said Yang, her voice quiet, "listen… I'm sorry for what happened to your Dad. I wish he could've come with us instead."

Blake's face fell at the mention of her dad. No doubt was her LED flashing a melancholic yellow. Yet she put on a brave face and squeezed Yang's hand a little tighter, murmuring, "I'm sorry about your father too."

That encounter had been as tense as it was heartbreaking. She'd focused on nothing other than Yang, whispering comforting words, saying that she would be here for the human, and many other things.

And then Yang had made it seem as though she was going to leave Blake.

And, well…

Blake refused to remember what happened after that. She just- she wasn't ready to remember. It was still too fresh on her mind. She… She didn't want to put more burden on Yang's shoulder.

But after their encounter to the man who dared call himself Yang's father…

Suddenly Yang's love for alcohol made sense. Grimly so.

The human forced a chuckle. "Just because he, err, helped 'create' me doesn't make him my dad. I realized that now." Her face adopted a more serious look. "Blood, DNA, all of that shit? It doesn't always equal family."

Something in the way Yang looked at her told Blake that there was more she'd like to say but couldn't.

Blake felt as though kissing Yang's hand and saying "I agree" were the appropriate response.

They stayed there for what felt like seconds and days all at once.

"Listen, I…" Yang rubbed her neck, biting her cheek in that cute way of hers. "I know you miss your dad, so, I, umm, made a few arrangements."

"Arrangements?"

Yang gestured to the drawer next to her knowingly. Blake raised an eyebrow but complied, opening the drawer. It would've been empty if not for the rectangular device inside.

Blake grabbed and inspected it, marveling at the unusual design. It was more advanced than anything she'd ever seen. Though she shouldn't be surprised. This _was_ Beacon, after all.

"It's not perfect," Yang started to explain, "and I don't really get how it works, but you can call your dad with this. They call it a 'scroll' or something and it uses a different kind of radio-wave - or airwave or whatever it's called - than our usual phone. It's completely untraceable - for the time being," the comment earned Yang a brief glare, a gesture she responded to with a wink, "meaning Jacques and his goons won't be able to track it. You don't have to worry about anything."

Blake's eyes widened, understanding what was being said but not quite ready to believe it just yet. Something in her chest was fluttering wildly in joy.

"You mean…"

[KISS]

[HUG]

Yang smiled warmly as she nodded. "Yeah. You can still chat with your old man. I know it won't ever be as good as seeing hi-mmph!"

Blake wasn't patient enough to let her finish her sentence, pulling her into a deep kiss.

"Thank you, Yang," she said once they broke apart, amused at how dazed the human looked.

Yang smiled a dopey, goofy smile. And once again Blake wondered how in the world did she manage to befriend such a cute human. "No problem, Blakey."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Blake leaned back to her chair, and Yang leaned back on her bed. Though their hands did stay linked together.

And then Blake remembered something important, something she'd wanted to ask Yang since before they left her dad's house but never got the chance to.

It was also something quite intimate.

[REQUEST]

[STAY SILENT]

Though it would probably be better to choose the latter… Blake really didn't want to waste any more time.

"Yang… can you…?"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence. Yang was looking at her quizzically, no doubt seeing her yellow-flashing LED.

With a sigh, Blake decided to let her action speak for itself, putting Yang's hand on her LED and looking at her expectantly.

It took the blonde a moment, but when it dawned on her - what Blake was asking her to do - the human blushed and asked, "Are you sure, Blake?"

No, she wasn't, but… "I can't keep running away from this. And… I know you'll be there for me."

Yang's face hardened. "Of course I will. Always."

They stared at each other.

Yang's hand stayed frozen until Blake nodded at her.

Her fingers were gentle as they slowly pulled away the one thing separating her from humans.

Blake had expected there to be a significant change within herself; that she'd see better, hear better, that the world would suddenly be full of bright smells and crystal clear sounding colors, despite knowing that both those were impossibilities.

But nothing changed.

And… somehow, that was even better for her.

This time, it was Yang who pulled her into a kiss. And it only dawned on her now that she could finally be with Yang, that she could kiss and hug and hold the human's hand and no one could tell her otherwise.

"Oh, I just remember: That Glynda lady wants to make your ID, you know," she gave a half-hearted shrug, "to make it official that you're a real person, just like us. Umm… What name will you take?"

Blake blinked.

She'd never really thought of it.

Suddenly, Yang grinned suggestively. "Will you take my last name? Blake Xiao Long does have a nice ring to it."

Yang received a flick to her forehead for that suggestion. "Dork."

Should she change her first name as well? This was going to be a fresh start for her and she was to be a new person. Should she even _have_ a last name?

"_Believe it or not, we've picked the name Blake long before I first saw you." _

And suddenly Blake found it hard to worry about a thing.

"Blake Belladonna," she said with a smile. "That's my name. Blake Belladonna."

And with how Yang smiled, she knew the human loved it just as much as she did.

Though, a few seconds later, the human _did_ pout, pretending to be disappointed... "Aww, man. I guess if you won't take my last name, then I guess I'll just have to take yours at some point."


	30. I: R0S3

**Strangers: Become Lovers**

**Act III**

* * *

**R0S3**

* * *

11:45

MONDAY

"Ruby…"

The human looked startled at having her name being called. She then put on a smile and waved at her. "O-oh, hey, Weiss. Aren't you supposed to be at Miss Goodwitch's office? For that ID thing?"

"I've already chosen my name" was the curt reply.

"Oh."

The human kept her smile for a couple more seconds before she looked down again, fidgeting in her seat.

-[10% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-

That was good. She was doing better. But… that didn't mean she was completely okay, especially after what had happened.

Weiss took a seat next to her and put her hand on the girl's thigh, causing the human to look at her.

"Ruby…" She swallowed. She was unused to speaking freely. But she would try for her dolt. "I want you to know that, no matter what happens, I will be there for you, just as you were there for me."

She didn't know if she should say anything more. She didn't think there was any need. She'd said all there was needed to be said.

Should she say more?

RUBY: _Warm_

Oh. Looks like there was no need.

"I know you will, Weiss," the human said, putting her warm hand on top of her own. "You saved me once. I've no doubt that you'll do it again."

"And I you."

She didn't know who leaned in first and who closed the distance. She didn't care that much either.

Their kiss was short and sweet and shy. And they lingered on each other even after they pulled apart.

She wished the kiss would've been longer and filled with more passion. She wished she didn't have to hold back. And she knew Ruby felt the same way with how she was looking at her.

But that was alright.

It wasn't as though they were going to leave each other.

They now had all the time in the world to slowly build their relationship, to make sure to let things come naturally, to not rush things.

They were free now.

Free to do whatever they pleased.

"So…" Ruby beamed expectantly. "What name did you pick? Is it something cool, like Miss Awesome? Or Gregorina the Great?" An excited gasp. "I bet it's Weiss Schnee!"

"No," she replied instantaneously.

"Aww."

Ruby took the rejection of the name at face value; it certainly played into the idea of her names both being German in origins, _and_ she was in fact an SCHN33 model, but Weiss' logic was that the less she had to remind herself of where she came from, the better. Calling herself 'Weiss Schnee' was just a reminder of what she once was - if only _very_ briefly, as it turns out.

She grinned. "I picked something much cooler: Ichden Keeskönntezu Frühseinumesliebezunennen Aberichliebedichtrotzdem." Her heightened processor accelerated her speaking to a point where some of the words sounded like they had joined together. Without pauses, it'd be hard to distinguish one word from another.

"Uhh…"

The newly named girl smiled, pecking Ruby on the nose to break her from her stupor of sheer confusion. "I'm only kidding," she admitted before giving out her real new name. Being able to joke of her own free will was something she would certainly relish doing. If it made Ruby smile, all the better for it.

It was hard to imagine that, less than a month ago, they were nothing more than strangers.

And now, those strangers had become lovers.

"Weiss Rose."

MISSION**: **_**COMPLETE**_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I'd like to thank each and every one of you for sticking with me 'til the end. This story has its flaws, I know that, but I'm still proud of it, and proud of myself for finishing it. After this, I'll post a non-chapter where I'll talk about how this story came to be, deleted concepts, yadah yadah, all that jazz.**

**Oh, yeah, shoutout to FeugoFox42 for betaing this story! And for always commenting on each chapter, even though he didn't have to! You're a true friend, foxy!**

**So, uh, yeah. Sorry if this goodbye A/N is underwhelming. I'm still whipped from school, and I'd like to zonk out in bed XD just know that every little comment means a lot to me, and even if you don't comment, nor favorite, nor follow my story, the fact that you dedicated your time reading it is an honor. It means I've done something good.**

**So, yeah. Thanks a lot, everyone :)**


	31. Behind the Story

Imagine my complete shock when, scrolling down _ColeyDoesThings_' latest videos "fanfiction reader moods", I stumbled upon a commenter by the name _Irradiated Cactus_ who sent this out:

"Android AU, Strangers to Lovers"

Someone's been spending a lot of time in the RWBY FanFiction section

And what's even better and worse at once is one of the replies made by _Icy Glaceon_ stating:

Such a shame Clem is leaving…

Like, wow. Holy moly. People… _know me,_ huh? It wouldn't be over the top or arrogant to say I'm kind of popular.

I'm not gonna lie, it hurts. It hurts because I don't have a choice. My feelings don't have a say in this. If I don't do this now, I'll break. Everyone's gonna know, and that's a way worse fate than the one I'm forced to choose now.

You know this feeling where you know what you're doing is bad, but you have to do it anyway? Rip off the band aid, but in an emotional way. Yeah. That's me, right now. All of my fanfics have been published. All I need to do now is cross-post the stories from Ao3 to this site, and vice versa.

Since _March 25th of 2017_, all I've been trying to do is give something out for people to enjoy, make sure they feel happy. I know that sounds corny, and kind of dweeby or hipsterish, but hey, it's the truth. Back then, I wasn't feeling too good about myself or my life, and I didn't want anyone else to feel what I was feeling, so I made these stories.

It's weird. To most, if not all of you, all I am is a fanfiction writer. Most of you don't care about me, and hey, it's fine, I get it. You have bigger things to worry about. I don't want to burden you with my unfixable problems.

I guess I'm just sad. I'm leaving. And I know that I've been planning on leaving for over a year, but planning about it is different from experiencing it.

I'm typing here, baring my thoughts and feelings out, and wondering if you'll doubt my sincerity. It's plausible for me to be making this up for attention. I'd say that I'm leaving, go under the radar for a few months, and pop back up with a new story.

I'm not, though. Or at least, I don't plan to.

I'm going to lose 3 years of my life. It's not actually my life, I know, but it's _a_ life. It's weird, different, fun, strange, but it's a life, and it's mine, and it'll be gone.

Jeez, what if someone, in a couple of months, stumbles upon this, being a late reader. What'll they think? Will they miss me? Or will they shrug and say they'll just find a new author?

It's scary, being forgotten. Scary, but inevitable. What matters more is being kind, helping others. (Yeah, yeah, pretty cheesy, I know. It's true, though.)

I'm going off-topic, aren't I? Sorry. I wanted to address the issue, and show off the fact that someone on YouTube commented about my story, and how that comment got over a thousand likes. How crazy is that?!

So, yeah.

Insert the clearing of the throat here.

Let's get started with this story's BtS, where I dissect it down to its essence, figure out what works and what doesn't as a way for me, and you, to learn from my mistakes and improve upon our writing.

I'll divide this BtS into two parts, the writing writing, and the story writing.

**Writing Writing** is where I get more technical. I wrote this story around 2019 of December, maybe earlier. Things have changed since then. My writing has changed.

**Story Writing** is, well, about the story. This is where I'll go in-depth about the structure, character arcs, character depth, all that jazz.

**…**

**Writing Writing**

Remember, I'm not a professional writer. However, I plan on one day publishing my work and _becoming_ a professional writer, so I've been doing research myself.

You don't always have to follow these rules to the max. In fact, I don't encourage it. When taking advice, you should always do so with a grain of salt. Don't just believe it. Do more research, or better yet, test it out. Experiment with your writing.

Do what works for you. That means figuring out what _does_ work for you in the first place.

Nicknames

No more "the brunette"/"the blonde"/"the girl"—use their name, unless you're writing in the POV where the character doesn't know their name.

For instance:

_The stranger walked in with a strut to their walk._

"_Hi. The name's Yang."_

"_Hi, Yang," said the yellow-eyed brunette, nodding._

_The tall blonde returned that nod._

VS

_The stranger walked in with a strut to their walk._

"_Hi. The name's Yang."_

"_Hi, Yang," said Blake, nodding._

_Yang returned that nod._

In the first sentence, the reader has to take a pause to figure out who's who, and focus less on the dialogue. It's a small difference, but one that impacts your writing far more. You don't want the reader to focus on how the character looks while they're saying or doing something, you want them to focus on what they're saying and doing. It can be a turn-off for some readers.

Think of it like this: if you saw someone whom you know, would you think to yourself, "Ah, there's the freckled pale black-haired furry."

Or, more realistically, would you thin, "Ah, there's _ThePurpleZoroark._ The weirdo."

Descriptions

Nada for "her eyes/hair/face were beautiful". It's overdone. And what's overdone can be boring. The readers don't want to know how the blue eyes of the character is like the ocean, full of depth and richness. I mean, sure, that's a good thing to keep in mind of, but wouldn't they prefer to know something unique about the characters?

Instead of telling them how beautiful the character is, why don't you tell them what makes them beautiful in the first place.

_Weiss gasped at the sight in front of her. Ruby was so beautiful. Her eyes shone in all of its silver glory. Those black tresses shimmered. Weiss was so lucky to have her. Who'd have known the dolt would grow up to be such a beautiful woman?_

VS

_Weiss gasped at the sight in front of her. Ruby's ponytail accentuated her cheekbones, and sharpened her chin. Her arm, no longer hidden by the fabric of sleeves, glowed with its muscles. Weiss knew she'd been working out, but seeing was different from knowing. _

See, the first one is good. But the second one? It's more interesting. And that's what writing's all about—being interesting, so much so that the reader has to read more.

We know Ruby has silver eyes. And we know she has black hair too. So the description about how amazing her eyes were and how her hair glowed, while nice, I suppose, doesn't matter.

In the second one, we learn that Ruby wears her hair into a ponytail, which is unusual. She's not wearing a long-sleeved shirt as well. Oh, not to mention she'd been working out. (Let us take a moment of silence to imagine Ruby with biceps and abs.)

Those are three new pieces of information! Information that ties in with what makes Ruby beautiful in Weiss' eyes.

The ponytail? It added more depth to her cheekbone and chin. The shirt? Biceps. Duh.

There's nothing wrong about writing how beautiful your characters are. But don't you want to write about what makes them special too?

Flowery Sentences

No long sentences unless it's necessary.

Look, I know how much you want to write something beautiful, something poetic, something that sounds like what Oscar Wilde or Virginia Woolf would write, but really, I beg of you, from the depths of my heart, however frail and small it may be, and how little you care about it, though that doesn't mean you yourself have no heart, it means you've not used it for long, it's been too long, you've forgotten how to use it—

Stop.

Too many long sentences will confuse your readers. Especially if there's a simpler way of writing the same thing.

_Yang sighed, confused, cheeks pink, thinking about Blake and those damn sass of hers and how much she loved it, wondering how she'd confess her love, if she'd do so at all._

VS

_Yang sighed in confusion. Her cheeks pinked. Blake and those damn sass of hers. Oh, how Yang loved it. How would she confess her love? Would she do so at all?_

Not gonna lie, I kinda like the first one better. I still write like that now, too. The thing is, I don't do it often. In each chapter I write, I make sure to save these long sentences for special occasions. So that when my readers do read these sentences, it'll be impactful.

I think the best saying is to not use too many spice, lest you ruin the dish. Or something along those lines.

Same Beginnings

Starting sentences the same way: don't do it. This may be hard for you. It's hard for me too. I catch myself doing it, and have to figure out a way around it. There isn't much to explain other than it's less boring and more creative. Lemme just show you.

_Ruby looked to the side. Ruby ran a hand through her hair, wondering what was going on. Ruby blinked at Weiss' biting of the lip._

VS

_Ruby looked to the side. Running a hand through her hair, she wondered what was going on. Weiss' biting of the lip made her blink. _

See?

Two Stones, One Bird

Let's clear up the confusion about adverbs and dialogue tags.

These two have the same issue, AKA, people don't know what to do with them. Some say adverbs and dialogue tags (ones like "whisper/mumble/groan" instead of "say") are something you should never do.

I disagree.

Though, that doesn't mean you should do it all the time. I still use it, at times, but I use it when it matters. Plus, overusing dialogue tags (again, the ones people call "bad") and adverbs can take the readers away from the story.

"_Are you sure we're alone?" mumbled Weiss anxiously._

"_Of course," laughed Ruby. "Don't fret, Weissy."_

"_You know I hate it when you call me that," growled Weiss._

"_Oh, yeah?" Ruby remarked cockily._

"_Yeah," husked Weiss._

"_Why don't you do something about it, then?" whispered Ruby._

VS

_Weiss tried to peer from the curtain. "Are you sure we're alone?" _

"_Of course." Ruby, from behind, brushed a strand of pearl-white hair, her fingers' touch soft, ghost-like. "Don't fret, Weissy."_

"_You know I hate it when you call me that," said Weiss, turning to meet Ruby's eyes with a sharp look on her face. Ruby grinned, impish. At that impish grin, Weiss took a step forward, causing Ruby to step backwards. Her back met the wall with a thunk. _

"_Oh, yeah?"_

"_Yeah."_

_Ruby's cheeks flushed against the coolness of Weiss' breath brushing against them. The dress she was supposed to be trying out lied uselessly on the stool._

"_Why don't you do something about it, then?" whispered Ruby._

I… might've gone overboard with the second version, but do you see where I'm getting at?

I only used the dialogue tag twice. There was no need to keep reminding the readers who's who. They aren't dumb. Most of the time my own readers are smarter than me, and I worry about disappointing them. You don't need to constantly tell them who's saying this and that.

Also, notice the difference in impact between the first version of the last sentence and the second one. Because in the first one, I use excessively weird dialogue tags that the readers become numb to it. In the second one, however, I used it once, so it has more of an _oomph!_ to it.

This applies the same way to adverbs. Sure, I could've written out, "Ruby softly brushed Weiss' hair." But why would I do that when I could've done, "Ruby brushed Weiss' hair, her fingers soft."

It tells the same thing, but verbs are stronger than adverbs.

You don't want your writing to be weak, don't you?

Speaking of weak writing, do you notice how both in the first nor the second version, I never mentioned where the scene is taking place?

Yet, whether or not you know where it happened, you at least get a hint in the second version. (By the way, it happened in the fitting room.)

Why?

What's cool about not using dialogue tags and adverbs is that it forces you to fill in the blanks in your story using actual writing. Instead of focusing on whether to use "growl" or "roar", you can focus on the setting, how your character interacts with the setting, those kind of stuff.

It circles back to my second advice: write about the things that'll capture the reader's interest.

Four Stones, Actually

It's honestly become a pet peeve of mine to read authors who use the word "felt" in their writing, not because it's something you should never use, but because most of the time, you can replace it with something stronger.

There's nothing complicated about it. Not using the word felt is better.

_Yang felt heat creep up her cheeks. Fidgeting and swallowing, she felt the beginning of an exhale leave her mouth. "So, yeah. I'm kinda in love with Blake."_

"_... I'm sorry, is that supposed to be a secret?"_

_Yang felt the heat on her cheeks turn hotter, no longer with embarrassment. "You could at least act surprised about it!"_

_Weiss blinked lazily. "Oh, wow, I had no idea you were in love with her, especially not with those heart eyes you sent her way all semester, and the way you kept lighting up when you see her."_

_Yang felt distraught._

_Yeah, Weiss got her there._

VS

_Heat crept up Yang's cheeks. Fidgeting and swallowing, the beginning of an exhale left her mouth. "So, yeah. I'm kind of in love with Blake."_

"_... I'm sorry, is that supposed to be a secret?"_

_The heat on her cheeks turned hotter, no longer with embarrassment. "You could at least act surprised about it!"_

_Weiss blinked lazily. "Oh, wow, I had no idea you were in love with her, especially not with those heart eyes you sent her way all semester, and the way you kept lighting up when you see her."_

_Yang was distraught._

_Yeah, Weiss got her there._

See how easy it is to not use "felt"? And it makes a whole lot of difference too! Even if it's as simple as changing it to "was"!

This goes for passive words too.

_Ruby was embarrassed by the lack of response. "What do I do, Blake?"_

_A pause, followed by a slick blink. "Tell her how you feel. Duh."_

_"But what if she doesn't return it?!"_

_"Then she doesn't return it."_

_Ruby let herself be deflated by a large sigh. _

_This was a mistake._

VS

_Blake's lack of response embarrassed Ruby. "What do I do, Blake?"_

_A pause, and a slick blink following. "Tell her how you feel. Duh."_

_"But what if she doesn't return it?!"_

_"Then she doesn't return it."_

_Ruby let a large sigh deflate her._

_This was a mistake._

**Story Writing**

Whew. That's done. Now, let's move on to the actual writing!

Lack of Explanation

Though I've stated that this story takes place in a D:BH AU, I've also made it clear to myself and you that people who've never played the game should be able to enjoy this story to the fullest.

The lack of explanation hampers that, I think. I'm not saying if you don't play it, you'll not understand any of this. But there should be an explanation either way, even if, without it, the story is relatively easy to follow. The LED stuff, Cyberlife, androids, those kind of snazz. It's not calculus.

People give this a pass because it's fanfiction, nothing more. But I'm seriously considering turning this into a novella, complete with original characters, settings, yadah yadah. For that to work, I can't just shove in weird things and expect people to accept it as "part of this AU". There needs to be reasons. Reasons that tie in with the plot of this story.

Think of it like this: Blake isn't a faunus for the sake of her being a cute neko girl. It ties in with her whole character. If Blake were a human, would she have been in Beacon with Team RWBY? The team formed because Blake ran away from the White Fang, which wouldn't have happened if she didn't have cat ears.

If you're going to introduce an element that's out of this world—whether it be magic, or robot, or other stuff—make sure there's a reason behind their existence.

There are lots of questions I should have found the answer to before posting this story. Questions like what Beacon is, why Blake didn't want to deviate, who Jacques is, why Ruby's so insistent on helping out Weiss, and more.

Yes, technically, I can answer these questions. You can too. Chances are, our answers are more or less the same.

What's Beacon? It's a place for humans and androids to live in coexistence peacefully.

Why didn't Blake want to deviate? Because she's scared of people shunning her for being wrong.

Who's Jacques? CEO of Cyberlife, or someone with as much power/status/rank of a CEO. Basically, he's a powerful man.

Why's Ruby so insistent on helping out Weiss? Because good dolts are good.

But has this story ever shown these facts? We hear a bunch of people talking about how great Beacon is, but there's never any physical descriptions, never any snippets of it.

Hell, what even is Beacon?! Is it a school?! A city?! A country?! Do you know?! I sure as hell don't, and I'm the author!

And blue blood! What is up with that?! Why did I ever include it in the story?! Did it, at one point, become important!? Nehi! Why did Past Me include it, then?! Because Past Me liked references! Even if those references make no sense!

Argh! I could go on and on!

Structure

I didn't learn about story structures until 2019. No, that's not quite the truth. Deep down in my head, I've always known, with my being an avid movie-goer. I could always tell when the first act's too long, or when the middle gets sloppy, even if I couldn't articulate it then.

The first time someone introduced me to a kind of structure in story, I was in the midst of writing my very first multi-chapter story: Head Over Heels. _Pontius Pilot_, my beta back then, told me to look it up because he told me it would help with my writing. And it did. It was a beat for a romantic comedy, and was fairly simple in general.

Head Over Heels is a mess, but it's a mess I was able to finish because of the story beats. And in my opinion, it's better to end a bad story and move on to the next rather than keep trying to perfect it, even when you no longer like it.

With this story, I chose to use the 3 act structure, mostly because it wasn't overly complex, but not overly simple as well. It wasn't like the one I used for my other story, The Truth and What Matters More. In that story, I used the simplests of story structure: beginning, conflict, end.

I didn't go too in-depth with the structure. In fact, most of what you've read was me lounging around in my bed all day, thinking of how I'm going to have fun with my writing, no idea whatsoever on how to proceed, only that I should. Looking back at it now, it's clear how much of a panster I've been. Whenever I make plans, I always deviate (heh, get it?) from them. What's worse is that whatever I come up with ends up being far more interesting than what I planned for.

Like, every awesome thing I come up with is accidental. No joke.

It's why the 3-act structure worked well for me. It's liberating. All I have to do is make sure the end of each act brings forth a change in the story. I know the actual 3-act structure goes far deeper than that, but again, I didn't want to. I never thought this story would turn serious. It's fanfiction, after all. And not just that. It's fanfiction that I used as a stress relief from writing my other, more serious fanfiction.

Really, all I did was go and speed write the entire first act in 3-4 days, stop, wait until I had enough motivation to do it again with the second and third act.

The real challenge is editing the work, and that's less because it's taxing work and more because I didn't want to change the story too much.

Fox, the nice nerd that he is, kept on wanting to do more than beta and help me edit my story, but back then, I knew he was busy with Real Life™ so I didn't want him to twist his hands getting too involved. Plus, I wanted to prove myself, and how much of an adequate writer I was.

Thinking back to it, I wonder how the story would've turned out had I and Fox co-wrote it. It surely would be an even bigger mess! We love dem large word counts.

Character Development

What is character development? To me, it's when a character feels less like a cardboard cut-out and more like a real person. I'm not saying your characters have to be 100% a real person. That's, like, mega super ultra hard to do. What I want to discuss is that they're more than who they appear to be, at first, and provide explanation for why they act the way they do.

Basically, it's adding depth to your characters.

For instance, Blake didn't want to be a deviant. She despised the thought of it. Later on, we learned it's because she was afraid, even though everyone was ready to accept her.

That's good. But you know what could be better? If we'd seen, from Blake's own eyes, what they did to deviants, and why the prospect's so scary. For us to understand her being afraid, we, as the readers, need to feel an ounce of that fear.

The characters don't feel 2D to me. They emote. Only, the reason behind their emotions are vague. We could've explored them more.

There is depth, but it's in the background, untouched. There's never been a conversation between one of the characters with Blake, asking why she's the way she is, or with Yang and her love for alcohol.

Like, what if, after Yang remembers a memory about Tai, she gets clammy and sweaty and fidgety and immediately reaches for a bottle of alcohol. That would not only explain her situation better—she drinks to forget—but give the readers a better understanding that whatever Tai did in the past, it screwed her up, years later.

The same thing goes to Ruby. What if she's fixated on the thought of fixing androids, and gets terrified at the smallest of malfunctions?

For instance, Qrow's vision glitches, or his robotic arm freezes and moves without his control. Ruby doesn't just ask what's wrong. She moves to help him, searching for a toolkit, rambling about the many things she needs to do.

There are many more things I could've written about to further develop my characters. I'm sure you could come up with something as well.

Character Growth

If you're confused about the difference, don't worry, you're not the only one. I used to be, too. People confuse character growth and development all the time.

While development is all about depth, and the ins and outs of a character, character growth is about how much they change throughout the story—whether it be good or bad.

I never like to plan growth in my story. To me personally, it should something that happens naturally, unscripted. Trying to force growth is worse than no growth at all.

I know there are formulas to how we should properly grow our characters, give them meaningful arcs, yadah yadah, but I prefer to do things my way. It feels wrong to have them be forced to change in a certain way. My characters should change the way they want to change themselves. It's like forcing them to fit into a specific mould or shape I want, instead of letting them go and having them fit into the shapes or moulds they can fit naturally.

But this begs the question: do my characters change throughout the story? If so, how, and is it realistic?

Right off the bat, I can say with certainty that Qrow, Yang, and Ruby don't change at all. Sure, their personalities become more withdrawn and serious as the story progresses and the stakes go higher, but themselves? Nada.

Now, is that a bad thing? No. I don't think so, at least. There's nothing wrong with characters that stay the same throughout the story. In fact, sometimes it can be favorable that way, as to keep the story simpler, and easier to digest.

Like, imagine if in Season 1 of RWBY, it's not just Jaune who goes through a growth, but his whole team, along with Team RWBY. Sure, it could be great, but it could also confuse us, the audience. The result could be a cramped, forced growth that feels rushed and unrealistic.

One great example of character development is BoJack Horseman. None of the characters stay the same. They all shift, turn, become better then worse then a different kind of better. But they take their time doing it. It doesn't take the main character, BoJack, one season to realise he needs to change. It takes five. Five whole seasons! And he's the main character!

But that's exactly my point. A growth cannot be rushed, nor planned to every little detail. We need to give characters room to breathe, to think, to wonder if they want to change.

So, yes, Blake's still afraid of being a deviant at the end of her story. But she's come to terms with it, even when it takes Yang having to get hurt. She's still afraid at the prospect that her feelings are "wrong", but she's getting there. Ghira is no longer her owner, but really, has he ever been just that to Blake?

And yes, Weiss doesn't need to change all that much, because from the moment she broke her protocols, her character growth is finished, and all she needed was to remember.

I don't see anything wrong with that. Most of my characters don't change, and those who do don't change in a massive amount. There's nothing wrong with leaving parts of who we are the same. In fact, that's more realistic, in my opinion.

Conflict

With this being a love story and a fanfiction, I can get away with a lot of things, such as the weak external conflict, AKA Jacques, Cyberlife, and the whole humanity who disagrees with the belief that androids can have a life.

This relates back to the lack of explanation, as stated before, as well as character development—with the exception of changing the word "character" into "world", or, in other words, worldbuilding.

The threat of the story has always been the antagonists finding out Weiss and Blake are deviating, and how quickly they can escape to Beacon before it's too late.

The hitting point of that story is Yang getting beaten up. And when did that happen? On chapter 21 of the story. 9 chapters before the story's end.

Again, this is a love story, so technically, the romantic tension between the White Rose and Bumblebee pair themselves can be called conflicts. Not to mention there's the whole Weiss trying to regain her memories bit. (I don't think it's fair to call "Blake trying in vain to convince herself she's not alive" a conflict.)

But wouldn't it be nice if they weren't the only conflicts of the story?

Like, what if there was a subplot of Weiss seeing firsthand what they do to deviants in Cyberlife? And Weiss interacting with that deviant before Jacques and his men "studied" him?

And Blake. Blake lives in the human world. Surely, she must've seen humans beat the crap out of androids, whether they're deviants or not. Humans _are_ aggressive creatures. We don't need to have a reason to be horrible.

I'm saying that the conflict of the story is weak because we don't get to see the stakes, so there's no way for us to know how much danger our characters are in. Because of that, there's no real sense of urgency, not until Chapter 21.

"So what if there's no urgency?" you ask. "What's so wrong with that?"

Well, there's not much of a reason for the readers to root for the characters. The only reason you did so at all is because this is fanfiction, and you've already cared for the characters before you read the story.

If this weren't fanfiction, on the other hand, can you say with certainty that yes, you'd enjoy this as much as you enjoyed it now; no, you didn't, at any point, want to stop reading; and no, you didn't see any glaring mistakes?

My story feels like a slowburn angst, with a hint of mystery and threat looming in the far away background. Then, in the third act, it switches gear into a mediocre action story, with barely any action at all. It's a mess. A good mess, but a mess nonetheless.

… Am I being too harsh on myself?

Overall, What Would I Change?

Don't worry, despite all my criticism, I don't hate my story. I do, however, think there are many mistakes that need fixing. In fact, you could say that I'm doing this because I love my story, and writing, and want to change for the better.

I can't make any promises now, as I'm working on another original fiction, but I do plan on turning this into a novel. And if I'm going to do that, I'm not going to settle with this. There needs to be changing. Stat.

Now, what are those changes?

Let's see:

**A)** I need to show the audience, more than once, what happens to deviants, and why the prospect of becoming one is so scary. Deviants getting dissected, shot, terrorised, you name it, I'll write it.

**B)** Weiss requesting Ruby to kiss her after she got shot in the eye, thinking she was going to die. Like, if that were to happen, then her remembering everything would impact the story more. We understand why Weiss is drawn to Ruby, and why Ruby's so adamant on helping Weiss.

**C)** Beacon reaching out to deviants, showing that not all is bleak, and there's still hope. Perhaps Ozpin will come himself, and make an announcement. Oh, or perhaps there'll be a protest, of sorts. That way, we know that while, yes, there are people who'll hurt deviants, it doesn't mean everyone's against them. They have allies.

**D)** Expand upon the whole Tai shenanigan. It'll be good to have Ruby and Yang and Qrow have deeper development. Especially since Tai did show up at the end of the story.

**E)** More threats. Instead of just Yang getting beaten up, and them realising that hey, things are serious, how about we have Yang's beating be the last straw? What if Ruby repeatedly got phone calls full of threats? What if one day, cops showed up at their doorstep, looking for the whereabouts of Qrow Branwen? This is kind of like Number A, only instead of bad things happening to other people and the characters being witnesses to it, those bad things happen to them.

**F)** Have the androids be more android-like. Yeah, sure, having them pick between options as a way for them to make decisions are neat n' all, but there should be more. How about having them not be able to detect humor? Or never stumbling or stuttering? How about we go even freakier, and darker? They're androids. They're not like us. They don't breathe, they're able to answer every question exactly right, and the personality they put on to not scare humans end up scaring them even more. Basically: the uncanny valley. Use it.

Whew. Those are loads of things that need changing, or I guess more things that need to be put in the story.

Tell me if you agree with the changes I've mentioned, or if you think there should be more changes that need to be made. I want you to be brutally honest. There's nothing wrong with criticism, after all. I want to change, to be better. I can't do that if I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

So, if those are the changes that I need to incorporate in my story—if I do plan on rewriting it into an original fiction—how will it turn out?

Weeeeeeeelllllll.

In** Act I**, things would relatively stay the same, with the exception of more worldbuilding. This includes the main character seeing what society does to deviants, and androids in general: Blake seeing humans beating up androids for fun, and Weiss seeing Cyberlife capturing a deviant and doing something horrible to them. This could be the chance for explanation as to what androids are, when did humans start making them, the nature of this world, though that's not a priority, since the world itself is self-explanatory: it's a future where mankind's technology has advanced enough for us to build sentience. It's been done many times before.

**Act II** is the longest of the acts, and should be 50% of the story. In a story, there's a promise of the premise; things that the summary of the story and the buildup promises. This act is all about fulfilling that promise, showing the audience what they want to see.

This is where we explore the world.

This means, of course, more romance, which we've already seen. However, this also means raising the stakes higher and higher. This is where Ruby starts to get weird phone calls, and Weiss interacts with a deviant, and even perhaps Blake, who barely manages to avoid getting beaten up.

I also want this to be where Ozpin comes into the picture, literally. Instead of Qrow vaguely saying he has a contact that can get them out of danger, how about we have Ozpin opening his hands, saying there's a chance for androids to escape to Beacon?

There should be a code that only deviants can crack, and have that be their only means of escaping. Again, in the first act, or maybe here in this act, we should see what happens with androids who try to escape on their own as a warning to the characters that the possibilities of escape is low, and Ozpin is their golden ticket.

I also want the _middle_ of this act to be where Yang gets horribly beaten up, instead of the end. Why?

So that in **Act III** and the other half of the second act, it's all about them escaping to Beacon. The story shifts into this thriller, suspenseful drama where they go to any lengths they could reach to find safety.

It won't just be them navigating through the city, it'll be them making deals with devils, stealing vehicles and cash, going off the grid.

Imagine Ruby and Yang watching the news reporter quoting Tai's words, stating that the androids have kidnapped them, framing them into victims.

Imagine them all, having to hide in a local's house for just one night, and finding out the next day that the local got in prison for helping them.

Imagine Yang's health deteriorating because of an infection, and them having no equipments to heal her, and having to hurry.

Imagine.

Just imagine.

**…**

Wow. So, that's it. That's my BtS.

Honestly, I'm all wiped out. Let's speed things along.

Thank you for reading this. I'm sorry if there's any mistakes, whether it be grammatical or otherwise. I haven't edited this yet, and I plan on doing so tomorrow, or when I have the time. (**Edit**: I've edited this, but I'm quite certain there are still mistakes I missed. I'll considering re-editing this again tomorrow.)

I hope none of the writing advice I give you is wrong. Like, what if some pro writer stumbles upon this and goes like, "NO! THIS IS ALL WRONG! YOU'RE SPREADING OUT LIES! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!"

I mean, it could be possible. Like, there's a low probability of that happening, but there_ is_ a probability. That's why, as stated before, you should always take any advice with a grain of salt. Figure out what works for you. Don't hold on to my every word.

Although, I'm pretty sure my advice will help you out. It did help me out, so…

Thank you all for reading this. I hope you've gained something useful from this. I certainly gained something: writing all of my mistakes down helped clear my head, and figure out what to do with my future stories as well as this one, if I will turn this into a novella.

Tell me what else I've missed. If there's any mistakes I failed to recognise, comment it down. I genuinely wanna know. And, if you can, comment down ways I can fix those mistakes, and overall improve my story.

So, yeah.

See ya next time, guys!


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